Nick's Paranoia
by WhiteWolf535
Summary: Life is boring after the apocalypse since there are no zombies to shoot. But when Nick starts to suspect his favorite southerner of cheating on him, things start to pick up again. yaoi. fluff and possibly a rating change so expect sexual themes.
1. Chapter 1: Company

**Alright so this is kind of my first posting on Fanfiction. But this is defiantly not my first story.**

**My friend pretty much told me to put this up on here, so here it is!**

**I had a little trouble with it (it kept getting deleted off my computer! Ugh!) But now I've got it figured out and it's turned out pretty well!**

**The first chapter kind of jumps into a bit of a teaser YAOI, so I hope you like that kinda stuff. The whole story is going to be like that and there may be some sexual contact later, which mean's I'll have to bump up the rating later… but that's if I decide to put in a lemon. **

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy! Please write some reviews if you don't mind!**

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The lights in the long hallway are dim, really offering just enough illumination to see. Ellis, a man in his mid-twenties walks down the hall with his head hanging, back bent and feet dragging; the embodiment of exhaustion. As usual he wears his mechanic overalls with the sleeves tied around his slim waist and his worn, yellow t-shirt hanging loosely from his shoulders. His blue and white hat, normally placed proudly on top of his head, is hanging precariously from his fingers. His young face is smeared with oil and grease. Shadows are cast under his tired blue-green eyes. His light brown hair is tussled and clumped where his head brushed against the car he was working on.

The poor, worn out, young man who has worked from dawn until dusk during the heat of summer, finally stops at a door. He heaves a sigh and let's himself slump into the wall, molding to it in his exhaustion. Ellis lifts his limp, aching arm to the doorknob and twists the round brass extrusion in the dark wood. The heavy door reluctantly opens with his weak encouragement and Ellis steps inside. The spacious condo never looked so welcoming in his life. Its open entryway lit by a hanging chandelier offers warm light that contrasts with the dull light in the hall.

He walks slowly to the conjoined kitchen-living room and stumbles to the long couch usually shinning in the natural light the large windows offer; but now is covered in the light of a lamp nearby. Just as he's about to fall onto the couch and surrender to sleep, strong arms wrap around his weak figure. Ellis closes his eyes as the soft, warm breath of his lover tickles his ear and the hairs of his neck. He lets out a murmur of approval as the owner of the arms lowers him down to the soft cushions of the couch. Ellis stretches himself along the sofa and smiles slightly when he feels his loving welcoming committee crawl over him and carefully straddle him, running firm hands over his tired body.

Ellis hums in pleasure, not arguing when the warm hands slip under his shirt and gently massage his overused muscles which are aching along with the rest of his body after a long day's work. But the nice treatment doesn't last long as the tentative fingers suddenly become rough and dig themselves into his gut. The poor mechanic grunts in pain and squirms from underneath his lover, opening his eyes to stare into the angry green eyes of the man on top of him.

Ellis's breathe catches in his throat when he sees the man above him. Nick, a man usually seen in a white wedding suit, sits atop him in a comfortable looking blue, striped button up shirt. The sleeves are partially rolled up and the buttons surprisingly up all the way, collar hugging closely to his neck. Ellis swallows hard finding himself fascinated by this change in outfit. Even Nick's hair is different. Its slicked back like it normally is but there's something strange about it. Ellis pinpoints the change in the smell. Finding it strange that he can recognize the scent of his partner's hair, Ellis lifts a tired arm to touch the strange smelling dark brown locks but then Nick catches the arm before it makes it.

Nick's eyes flicker in annoyance and finally he talks but Ellis is invited by hostility instead of his previous affection, "your home late… you were supposed to be here an hour ago…" Ellis hesitates, the anger in the usually warm eyes catching him off guard. Suddenly he sighs and regains his confidence, "I'm sorry Nick! I was jus' workin' a lot… an' all the cars had some complicated problem, so it took awhile is all." Nick's anger just flares and he suddenly leans down, resting his forearms and elbows on the southerner's chest.

Ellis flattens himself on the cushions as the displeased face of his lover stares down at him. Then Nick's eyes travel to the southerner's throat and makes a dive, bringing is mouth to the soft skin and sucking tenderly. Ellis sucks in a breath but tilts his head to expose more of his skin, closing his eyes in enjoyment. But then Nick utters the news that he had forgotten, "Zoey, Francis and Ro are on their way over…" That's right! They were having company tonight! In all the work he had, Ellis had forgotten. Nick continues after a moment of sucking hungrily at Ellis's neck, "even though you knew this… you come home late… I think a little punishment is in order…"

The southerner's eyes open wide and props himself up on his elbows to look at Nick, knowing the mention of punishment is never good. He shakes his head while holding the man's eyes and stutters, "N-no Nick, y-ya jus' said that our friends will be here soon! I-I have ta take a shower and… and…" The mechanic's voice fades when Nick's tongue darts and hits his sensitive spot, a place somewhere along the right side of his jaw. Ellis shivers as the man's mouth overwhelms him with rough sucks and nips. He closes his eyes again and finds himself lost in the pleasure Nick brings him.

But then the mouth disappears into darkness and the weight of Nick's arms fades away from his chest. Ellis opens his eyes, a little taken aback by the sudden stop of his partner, to see the conman leaning back in order to catch a glimpse of the clock in the kitchen. Nick's green eyes move to his and sighs, bringing a hand to his hair, combing his slick strands with his fingers while grumbling with a frustrated tone, "damn… I don't have enough time… you should take that shower and get dressed… they'll be here in about a half an hour."

With that Nick gets off of the southerner and wanders upstairs to their bedroom. Ellis reluctantly follows, really wanting some rest and more of Nick's attention, but the stress of the short amount of time he has forces him to get up. The trip upstairs was almost unbearable for the tired legs of the mechanic but finally he makes it up to find himself in their large bedroom. There is another set of stairs that leads their roof where Nick takes care of a small garden and lounge chairs. Ellis will never get over the day he found out that his manly lover bought a small plant to care of. But it's understandable that Nick would get a little bored and perhaps a bit lonely when he's home alone. Although, for some reason, the larger man always refuses Ellis's suggests that the gambler to come visit at work whenever he felt lonely.

Shaking his head, Ellis clears his head and walks into the bathroom, passing the closet where Nick stands with a hand on his chin, pondering what outfit Ellis should wear for their dinner. Ellis glances at his lover with a smile, Nick seems to be very particular about what they both wear. It drives the conman insane when he sees Ellis wearing his old 'Bull Shifters' t-shirt from the zombie apocalypse; saying that it's unsanitary since it has been puked on, spat on, and bled in. But the old torn yellow t-shirt brings back good memories from before the apocalypse and also memories during the hell on earth. The worn fabric was with him through the moments where he first met Nick and the progression of their relationship; and those are something he will never throw away.

Nick's eyes flicker to his, seeming to just notice that he was being watched and nods his head in the direction of the bathroom, "what are you waiting for, Ail? Unless you want me to undress you instead, but you know that'll just take longer." Ellis's breathe hitches and his face reddens as images and sensations brought on by past memories flood his brain. He vigorously shakes his head and hurries into the bathroom with Nick's taunting chuckle right behind him.

The shower was quick and refreshing. Obviously Nick had taken a shower a short while ago because the water was a little colder then usual but not cold enough to be uncomfortable. In fact it was at the right temperature to wake him up a little. Hesitantly he turns off the comfortable water and grabs a towel, quickly rubbing his hair down and dries the rest of his body before wrapping the soft fabric around his waist and boldly stepping out of the misty room.

He steps into the spacious main part of the bedroom where a large king bed sits. The bed, always inviting, takes up at least half of the room, it seems like. Ellis never understood why Nick had gotten such a large mattress when they take up less than half the space. But he stopped asking when Nick slapped him upside the head and told him how he was used to large beds such as this. Right now a small space of the covers is taken by the outfit Nick had picked out for him.

Presently Nick lounging on a comfortable armchair in the corner of the room, fiddling with his cell phone, flipping it open and closed, waiting impatiently for his southern lover to appear. When Ellis finally approaches him with nothing but a towel for protection, he can't help but smirk and drag his eyes along the bare body of the man in front of him. Ellis shifts uncomfortably under the hungry gaze of Nick's eyes but somehow finds his voice, "s-so you're makin' me wear this?" The conman forces his eyes to leave the enticing body and look over at the outfit he had picked out and nods slowly as if double checking if the clothes he set out are perfect.

Ellis sighs and nods before stepping to the fairly big wooden dresser on his side of the bed. The wooden drawers are large enough for a wide variety of clothes but since Ellis is so uncaring about what he wears, his clothes only occupy a small amount of that space. He pulls out one of the middle drawers and takes out a pair of boxers. He glances uneasily over at Nick who seems to be concentrated on something displayed on his phone and takes this moment to quickly pull on some underwear.

Luckily for him, whatever was on Nick's phone, held the man's interest long enough for him to safely cover himself. So when the towel falls and catches the gambler's eyes, Ellis has the satisfaction of seeing disappointment on Nick's face when the conman's eager green eyes are met with the sight of his boxers.

Ellis steps over to the bed again, grabbing the pair of jeans Nick saved for occasions such as these. Despite the conman's insisting, Ellis refuses to wear 'smancy pants' as he calls them. He tries to explain to his lover that the fabric material irritates his skin and the sound when the pant legs rubbing together drive him insane. Finally Nick stopped trying and bought the best looking pair of blue jeans he could find. The southern mechanic pulls on the jeans, frowning when he feels how new and unbroken they are. Nick sees this and growls irritably, "don't make that face! It's just one night; deal without your overalls just this once!"

The southerner makes a face, so tempted to just take them off and slip into his familiar overalls but complies to Nick's wishes, knowing the strong conman would probably force him anyway. Ellis grabs the next item of clothing, a black t-shirt, similar to his old yellow apocalypse shirt. He is about to put it on himself when Nick appears before him, gently taking the shirt for him, "lift your arms… your taking too long." Ellis makes a face but shrugs and lifts his arms. Nick pulls the shirt down the southerner's arms and over his head, shuddering when his fingers brush over the hardened muscles over Ellis's stomach.

His hands rest on the mechanic's hips and pull the man against him, looking down into the blue eyes that seem to smile at him. Ellis lifts his arms up to wrap around Nick's shoulders, his hands roaming to the man's hair. But then the southerner starts to apply a little pressure, urging Nick to lower his head and meet his for a kiss. Nick hesitates at first but something gives and his mouth is on Ellis's, crushing the mechanics lips with his. They both open their mouths at the same time and their tongue fight for dominance, tongues slipping against each other in a furious battle. Finally Nick let's the stubborn Ellis win and holds his tongue back and lets the southern tongue have its way with his mouth.

Ellis celebrates his victory by making Nick moan against his will, triggering a few hidden spots to achieve such a reaction. Nick opens his eyes, annoyed that he has no control over his voice as he utters another groan of pleasure and humiliation. But he doesn't try to stop his southern lover; instead his eyes drift lazily over to a clock on one of their bed side tables. Seeing the time, he turns his attention to the mechanic who seems to be enjoying himself within his mouth. Nick taps Ellis's tongue with his own to get the involved man's attention but doesn't succeed.

So, with a roll of his green eyes, Nick breaks the kiss sloppily, pushing Ellis away so all strings of saliva are broken with the least amount of dribbling. The southern mechanic looks up at him, clearly unhappy, "hey, Nick. That was jus' unfair… I never get ta be dominant." The conman gives him an apologetic look and points out the time, "I'm sorry El… but as much as I love you making me humiliate myself, our guests are going to be here any moment." Ellis heaves a sigh and Nick leans over to grab the last remaining article of clothing: a red button-up shirt. The southerner opens up his arms and lets the conman put the shirt on for him.

However, as soon as Nick starts to button up the shirt, Ellis starts to squirm and get on the gambler's nerves. Suddenly Nick loses his patients and snaps at his partner, "would you spot that! It's hard to button up your shirt when you keep wiggling like that!" Ellis shakes his head, looking down at the red fabric covering his comfortable black t-shirt. He lets out a whine of complaint, further annoying Nick, "I'm sorry, ya know how I am… I don't like shirts like this… why can't I jus' keep it unbuttoned? Ya can't even see my tattoo!" The irritated man lifts his eyes to meet Ellis's as he continues to button the shirt, "Ellis… just one night… that's all…" his eyes lower back to the cloth between his fingers and he continues with a mumble, "besides… you look good in these kind of shirts."

This doesn't seem to comfort the southerner since he continues his insistent fidgeting. But Nick finally gets the shirt fully buttoned just as the doorbell rings. Nick looks toward the bed room door for a second then turns back to Ellis, straitening the shirt before leaning down, giving Ellis a peck on the lips, and striding toward the stairs to go answer the door. Ellis watches the man leave him behind but shrugs and follows at a slower pace, focusing on his shirt as he starts to unbutton the shirt.

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I know that's an abrupt ending, but that's why I've posted three chapters on my first day of submitting. So basically chapters 1-3 are really just supposed to be one, really long chapter split into three parts. I hope you don't mind ^^"


	2. Chapter 2: Spaghetti and Meatballs

**Beware, I don't like this chapter too much, I find it kinda boring but my friend says otherwise so yeah… besides it gets better after this. **

**If there are any typos or mistakes, I apologize. I'm too lazy to go through and correct them but if it's a pretty bad mistake then let me know please. **

**Thanks**

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Nick swiftly moves down the stairs flinching when his quick movements cause more sound then he wants. He steps to the door and lets out an exhale as he opens the door. As soon as he sees the familiar faces, Nick smiles slightly and greets with sincere warmth; "welcome, come on in everyone."

'Everyone' consists of a group of survivors Nick and Ellis know from the zombie apocalypse. Zoey walks in first with her usual calm but inviting look. Nick glances over her briefly, noting that she's replaced her pink and white hoodie for a very flattering dress that is both casual and attractive in a shade of red that is appealing to the eyes. Her long brown hair flows freely from its pony-tail position it was held in for the majority of the apocalypse. Nick allows himself a exclamation of approval to her outfit, "wow, your looking pretty good, princess." He smirks in his usual sarcastic manner but his eyes are full of good humor. And luckily for him Zoey sees that and lets his title for her slide as she responds, "thanks Nick, it looks like you've finally thrown that old wedding suit away, it was kind of tacky anyway."

He humors her with a small chuckle but then he turns to meet eyes with his good friend and group member during the apocalypse. A woman with dark skin and warm brown eyes wraps her slender arms around his shoulders in a friendly hug as she laughs, "Nick, it's been too long!" The conman agrees with a nod as he hugs back, "yes… Ro, it has been too long since we've seen each other in person." Nick has had conversations over the phone with both the other group mates he had grown so accustomed to call his family. And Rochelle happened to be a reporter for the news so he tires to tune in to the news station in time to see her but nothing compares to seeing someone in person.

The two teammates separate from the embrace and meet each other's eyes with a smile. Rochelle still looks as young and pretty as she had when they were fighting zombies together. Although Nick will never think of her more than his sister, there was a time when he held some attraction for the woman. But now that it is clear who he's fallen in love for, it seems a bit awkward to glance at his friend's attire.

However, Rochelle thinks differently, leaning back and putting a hand to her chin as she obviously looks over his new and unfamiliar look. Nick smiles and looks her over, approving of the outfit she has on. He recognizes her slim fitting khaki pants as ones similar to the ones she wore during their adventures. She wears a casual but nice t-shirt, loose and airy for the hot weather in the summer heat. Finally after a moment to check each other out, Rochelle concludes with a shake of the head, "I like the suit more… it fits you, tackiness and all." She gives him a grin and steps inside to admire the spacey condo with Zoey.

Finally the last of their guests, a well built man, steps inside not waiting for Nick's official invitation. Immediately the conman frowns at the blunt rudeness and decides to give his man a hard time right off the bat. After shutting the door behind the last person, Nick turns and tugs on the torn vest the man wears and practically snaps, "Really Francis, you couldn't find anything nicer to wear on your first time visiting? Or is your closet full of greasy clothing like this?" The bearded man frowns and tugs roughly on Nick's shirt and grumbles in his rough voice, "really Nick? I know your gay but must you dress completely queer?"

Already this is looking to be a long visit. Just as Nick is about to fire off another sarcastic comment, slow footsteps coming from the stairs stop him. The conman turns to see Ellis walking down the stairs, undoing the last of his buttons. Nick frowns at the shirt he had so neatly buttoned, but lets it go, reminding himself that Ellis felt uncomfortable in it anyway. The southerner looks up at the people occupying his entryway and smiles, "hiya guys!"

Ellis hugs Rochelle tightly, voicing his unhappiness about how little they see each other. Nick crosses his arms and watches with a hint of anger when Zoey demands the mechanic's attention before wrapping her arms around the man. Ellis's face turns a bright red and he hesitantly brings his arms up to hug her back. Zoey comments that the group should get together more often and stay in touch. But then she glances to Francis then Nick and adds with a smile, "it'd be nicer if these guys got a long though."

Ellis looks up to Francis at the mention of his name and smiles warmly at him, "yeah, Francis! Why can't you get along with Nick?" The conman blinks when he hears the southerner actually sticking up for him and makes Francis look like the bad guy for once. A warm feeling of appreciation spreads inside the man until, of course, Ellis opens his mouth again, "he's not so bad… whoa! Did you get a new tattoo!" The mechanic steps closer to the burly man and holds out Francis's arm to look at a new marking on the exposed skin. Nick's jaw drops and his arms fall limp in disbelief as his lover simply forgets the defense being made for him.

As Ellis admires Francis's new tattoo, Nick can't hold back his frustration any longer. But instead of exploding, the gambler calmly moves into the kitchen-living room. He steps into the luxurious kitchen and leans against the island as he opens up the fridge and examines what he had picked out earlier to eat. He hears the two females walk in after him and join him in the kitchen, gaping at the size of the kitchen.

Zoey turns to him, suddenly curious, "Nick, are you the one who cooks? I mean, out of the two of you?" Nick moves his eyes over to look at her and nods before slowly responding, still in thought, "yeah… El is usually too busy to cook and he sucks at it anyway…" Rochelle nods while she comes to stand next to Nick, leaning against the island as he is with her shoulder touching his, "yeah, I remember a time during the apocalypse when we found a working kitchen and some sort of food. Nick cooked for us and it tasted fantastic. Of course that could have been because we hadn't eaten anything decent for weeks back then."

The reporter playful nudges Nick and he smiles. But then the three sink into a silence as they reflect on the memories they shared of the apocalypse. For some reason, Nick always gets bummed out when he thinks of the zombie epidemic. They all do. Perhaps it's the thought that they all lost someone important to them during that time. But Nick always has to remind himself that he met Ellis during that time as well.

The conman frowns, not liking the memories of the constant fear and death that still give him nightmares. He shakes his head and snatches a plastic wrapped burger patty and closes the fridge. He opens up the package and grabs various pots and pans while the girls talked around him. He wanders to the pantry and doesn't even look as he grabs some Angle Hair off a shelf.

As soon as things started to heat up and the aroma of cooking meat along with a few other intoxicating smells, Ellis and Francis burst into the kitchen and inquire of Nick what it was that he was cooking. The gambler's eyebrow twitches in annoyance when the two men keep hammering him with questions such as; "what ya makin' Nick? When will it be ready? Man that smells good! What is in that sauce?" Finally he can't stand it anymore and gives Ellis a warning glare which effectively shuts the mechanic up.

Ellis Tugs on Francis's arm and directs the man over to the living room where the females were already stationed, talking about what they were doing now after the zombie apocalypse. Its seems that Zoey had reluctantly returned to collage after finding her family, who persisted that she return. Rochelle, as mentioned before, returned to working as a reporter but it also seems that she might have a romantic interest. Nick looks up at the sound of that and raises a brow, watching Francis's reaction to that.

"Yeah, he's part of the camera crew." Rochelle says with a blush and a shy smile. Zoey leans forward on her position on a lounge chair with an interested smile, "really? Is he cute?" Rochelle hesitates but then nods, releasing a held breath as if she were holding back the following words, "oh he's so cute. I mean he's a little younger then me but not by much." Nick sees with some satisfaction that Francis still has a crush on his former group mate and is fidgeting uncomfortably under the news of the woman's new interest. Ellis, having been listening to the conversation nods enthusiastically and adds, "It's not like age matters too much, I mean Nicks in his thirties an' I'm in my twenties. But we still git along fine!"

This seems to come as a surprise to both Zoey and Francis. They turn their heads in Nick's direction only to find the man looking down intently at the dish he was preparing, as if he didn't even notice the conversation at all. Inwardly, however, Nick is fuming. He grimaces at the limp noodles, spiting Ellis for having shared information such as his age and the difference between them. As soon as the two guests turn back around, Nick stabs a fork into the large pot containing his homemade meatballs.

The meatballs are finished finally and he heaves a sigh, turning around he grabs serving plates and any other utensil he thinks of the take and turns to the group, interrupting their conversation on how Francis is still a biker, "Dinner is ready you guys."

Zoey grins and exclaims as she stands up, "finally! I'm starved!" Everyone seems to murmur their agreement after having to sit in the same room as the cooking food. Nick nods and gestures for them to move into the dining room through an open doorway on the far side of the kitchen.

Nick picks up the bowl of sauce and meatballs and moves it into the room. Francis follows him with the huge plate of spaghetti while Ellis comes in last with the grated parmesan cheese. Nick looks at his arrangement but then frowns, "damn… I forgot to make a salad…" Ellis sits next to where the man stands and looks up at him happily, "I don't think anyone will mind!" The con artist looks around and sees that every one is satisfied with what they have and sighs, letting himself relax and sit down beside his lover.

Everyone makes themselves comfortable, getting their own drinks since they aren't used to be waited on anyway, despite Nick's offer to the girls that he really wouldn't mind getting them something. Francis smirks at the offer and leans his elbows on the table and looks into Nick's eyes, "I could go for a beer Nick. Maybe you'd like to get it for me?" The gambler doesn't even glance up from shaking a spoon full of parmesan over his plate of pasta as he responds, "they're in the fridge, get one your self you lazy ape."

Ellis nudges Nick, making the man spill his cheese, "Be nice!" He then turns around and starts to stand, "I'll get it Francis."

Just as he is about to swing a leg out from under the table, Nick grabs his arm and pulls him back down with an annoyed sigh, "I'll get it!" He tosses a glare toward Francis as he stands and steps into the kitchen and grabs the muscled man a beer. As he returns, the conman tosses the can to the biker, "if you keep having people get you things, you'll get fat and no girl will want you." Nick gives Francis a smirk and a meaningful look as he sits down. The biker frowns at this and opens the can, taking a nice gulp of beer, keeping a glare on Nick.

Dinner goes on quietly at first but soon Ellis perks up and looks to Francis with a flicker of excitement in his eyes. The southerner swallows his mouthful of spaghetti and grins, "hey, do ya really think there was werewolves an' vampires existin' durin' the apocalypse?" Francis stops mid-chew in thought but Zoey answers before he can, "really? Are you guys going to bring up this conversation while we're eating?"

Ellis blushes at the sound of her voice and squirms in his chair. Nick watches this reaction out of the corner of his eyes and starts to feel a pang of irritation and jealousy. The southerner never gets excited like this no matter what Nick does. At least not by talking. He stabs his fork into yet another meatball and eats it in sullen silence. Despite Zoey's obvious disapproval, Francis swallows his mouthful of pasta and nods his head enthusiastically, "yeah! Defiantly. There had to be some other creatures around if there were zombies."

Nick rolls his eyes at this old conversation. He leans over to Rochelle who sits on the other side of him, focusing on her meal instead of the conversation. He nudges her shoulder politely and whispers to her after successfully gaining her attention, "hey, how come Coach couldn't make it?" The reporter brings a napkin to her mouth, making sure none of the delicious red sauce is on her lips to embarrass her and muffling her response, "he had something planned, a football game or something. And Louis, I think, went with him. They said to give you their apologies."

The gambler makes an unpleased face, really looking forward to seeing his other teammate. Coach had been a leader and figure of support for him over the time of the apocalypse. And he had only met Louis a few times and back then the man was injured thanks to a zombie. Nick didn't know how the usually cheerful man was doing now with that injury. Something about the amount of pills the man was taking always made Nick uneasy. Hopefully Louis has gotten over the addiction, knowing how hard it was to quite taking the amount of drugs he had during the apocalypse.

By the end of the meal, Nick is uncomfortable by the warmth his shirt is conserving. He glances to Ellis who seems perfectly comfortable in his red and black attire. It's not like the room is hot or anything, perhaps it's the material of his shirt. Either way, he can't stand the heat any longer and starts to unbutton his shirt. However, Nick doesn't have another shirt underneath, usually comfortable with showing a little skin.

As soon as the overheated man starts to unbutton his shirt, Francis takes notice and makes a face of mock disgust, "whoa man, no one wants to see your chest." Nick frowns and stops' unbuttoning his shirt to point at the biker's exposed arms, "yeah? What makes you think we want to see your big hairy ape arms?"

Francis gives him a blank stare and shakes his head, feeling a tad embarrassed since Rochelle is here. Nick smirks in triumph but then looks to Ellis who is staring at the biker with some form of admiration. First Zoey, now Francis? Ellis seems to be noticing everyone but him. The conman forces a mask over his frustrations so that no one asks why he is so upset. First the southerner comes home an hour late, completely exhausted. Now he seems to be taking an interest in two of their friends. Something starts to creep over Nick: maybe Ellis is unfaithful.

Nicks throat starts to close and he panics. Would his southerner really conceder anyone else? Was the mechanic not satisfying with him? Nick starts to gasp for breath. Why? Why would he see someone else?

Ellis turns to his partner, alarmed, "Nick? Are you alright?" The southerner puts a hand on the suffering man's back. Everyone looks to Nick, confused about his sudden reaction. Nick shakes his head slightly, trying to find reason within him. Ellis couldn't go behind his back, not him. Ellis is too soft, too nice, too loving. Isn't he? Yeah… he has to be. Nick calms himself down but the creeping doubt clings to the very back of his mind.

Nick feels his face being directed to look at the southerner. The gambler's green eyes suddenly find themselves staring into the intense concern of familiar blue eyes. Ellis holds the man's face close to his and searches the green eyes. The conman diverts his eyes, unable to stand the pressure but he responds to the southern mechanic's pervious question with a steady voice, "I'm fine Ellis." The southerner looks deep into the other man's eyes before nodding. Ellis let's go of Nick's face and instead slips a hand into the conman's.

Nick smiles, at the smaller man and presses his lips to his lover's forehead. Yeah, Ellis is too caring to hurt him, to hurt anybody.

It doesn't take long for the group to finish the meal. They rest back in their chairs satisfied with their full stomachs. Nick stands and gathers their empty plates and takes them into the kitchen. The rest of the group follows him, bringing the rest of the utensils. They help clean as Ellis and Francis continue their conversation on how vampires and werewolves exist.

The guests start to filter back to the living room, leaving Nick to his kitchen. He finds himself now scrubbing a sparkling white plate, staring off into space lost in his own thoughts. The doubt has suddenly returned and makes him worry. What could he do to keep Ellis close? But before he can get far in those thoughts, he is interrupted by arms wrapping around him. Warm breath warms his ears and the bill of a familiar hat brushes against his temple. Ellis rests his head on the gambler's shoulder and stares down at the clean plate in amusement, "Nick… I think it's clean… why don't ya join us? Relax a little?"

The gambler blinks and pauses in his cleaning. It's true, he does need to relax. He needs to forget his troubles and shed his shell of stress. Nick sighs and nods, agreeing with his lover, mumbling, "Alright…" Ellis grabs one of Nick's hands and tugs him over to the living room where everyone sits and chats. They look up at the couple as they enter. Zoey moves over on the couch and leans against the arm rest, giving the two room to sit.

The southerner forces the other man to sit in the middle of the couch before plopping right beside him. Almost immediately after sitting down Ellis finds Nick's head on his shoulder with his eyes closed. The southerner smiles and moves to make both he and the gambler comfortable.

Nick's eyes open for a moment and looks up to Rochelle in the chair across from him, "so tell us more about this guy friend of yours."

"Well his name is Cameron. He graduated from Harvard right before the apocalypse. He survived obviously, with a group similar to ours." Rochelle is completely oblivious or possibly uncaring about Francis's constant twitching. Nick glances to the muscled man before looking back to the reporter with a raised eyebrow, "he graduated from Harvard but he's a camera guy? So much for the power of a good graduation…" Rochelle just shrugs.

Becoming increasingly annoyed with this conversation, Francis changes the conversation, "So Nick, what do you for a living?" The gambler smiles at the man's discomfort but then hesitates, not exactly wanting them to know he still cons people for a career. Ellis looks down as if sharing the same thoughts. Unfortunately for Nick, Ellis figured it out: that the large amount of money his lover seemed to gather doesn't necessarily belong to him. But the southerner has given up on stopping Nick from his destructive habit. Since Ellis is at work a lot himself, he can't stay home and keep Nick out of trouble. Still however, Ellis always goes into a sort of depression when he comes home to an empty house, void of a loving presence except for the note telling Ellis of the return of his lover within a few weeks.

Nick makes a face and turns to Ellis, "that reminds me, I'm going to go on a business trip next week or so…" The mechanic looks unhappy but nods, knowing that his wage defiantly doesn't cover the cost of their house and there is a need of money but still hates not being around his beloved con artist. Nick then looks back to Francis and shrugs, "I work for an insurance company and unfortunately they send me away for a couple of weeks every other month." The biker seems mildly impressed but mostly bored with this response. He was probably hoping Nick had said he was a conman still.

Suddenly Zoey perks up and grins at Ellis, "hey! If Nick is gone for a few weeks, why don't you come over and spend some time at my place Ellis? It gets really boring and lonely at the university sometimes and it'd be great if you came over and spent some nights with me!" Nick stiffens at the sound of this. Ellis squirms underneath him and stutters, "r-really? Ya wouldn't mind that?" Francis cuts her off with a laugh, "you should stay for a week at my house too! We can switch off; a week at her place and a week at mine!"

_No!_ Nick has to bite his tongue in order to hold back his angry reply. He forces his eyes closed and stays silent to hear his lover's response. "W-well… it does get a little lonely sometimes… if it's ok with ya'll then sure! Why not?"

Why not? Because you're supposed to be here when I get home! Nick struggles to keep his thoughts to himself. Rochelle, about to suggest her house as well, jumps at the sound of her Midnight Riders ring tone. Nick opens his suffering green eyes to see her reaching into her purse, searching for her cell phone.

Finally she finds it and answers, "Hello?" She stands and steps away from the group into the kitchen. After a quick conversation with the other person she hangs up and turns to both Nick and Ellis, "I'm sorry guys, I have to go; they need me down at the station." Nick sits up strait and nods, a little disappointed with her departure, "yeah… alright. Ellis has to get up early tomorrow anyway so we should head to bed…"

He turns to both Zoey and Francis and announces with fake but convincing apology, "I'm sorry, I'd like to spend more time with all of you. We need to get together more often."

Rochelle starts to walk towards the door and the rest of the people follow her. Nick embraces her tightly and whispers into her ear, "thank you for coming over, we really miss you guys…"

Rochelle chuckles quietly and squeezes him, whispering back, "we miss you too sweetie, Coach and I are deprived of your sarcastic insults." Nick lets go with a genuine laugh before opening the door for her. Ellis has his turn to hug her while Nick apologizes once more to Zoey and Francis, hugging the girl and receiving a hearty slap on the back from the biker.

Nick winces at the heavy hand on his back, inwardly strangling the muscular biker. Once Francis removes his hand, the gambler rubs his back, flinching with the sensitive skin prickles under his careful hand. Oh yes, there will be a bruise… maybe this is just karma or something. It doesn't matter to him either way, so, with a shrug, the conman turns toward the exiting group and bids them farewell.

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Yeah I know, abrupt ending again but I promise next chapter ends smoothly.

**I'm sorry that I suck at accurately portraying characters, like I'm sure I made Francis overly annoying but that's just because I hate him as much as Nick does. **

**If I saw him during a zombie apocalypse I'm pretty sure I wouldn't hesitate to shoot him. But I'm just a naturally violent thinker that way… there's probably something wrong with me too.**

**Oh well, hurry to the next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3: Watermelon SourPatch Kids

**Alright! Finally the people are gone! I'm sorry but I really do suck at nailing down those chars. Haha… yeah I fail.**

**Anyway, there's some lovin' later in the chapter and Ellis tries to be a seductive little trucker dude. I don't know why but I kinda find it funny to think of Ellis trying to be sexy… maybe it's because it's easy to portray him as kind of a klutz; like if he tried to approach Nick seductively, I can see him tripping all over himself or something. **

**I don't know, that's probably just me cuz I'm weird that way.**

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Finally, after a long night the couple wave goodbye to their three guests for a few moments before retreating into their homey condo. Immediately Nick heaves a sigh of relief, falling against the door, "finally!" Ellis looks up at him and tilts his head, giving the gambler a disapproving look, "don't be happy our friends are gone! I liked their company. Even you said yerself that we should see 'em more oft'n."

Nick's eyes meet his blankly as he responds simply, "I lied." Ellis's mouth drops partially, taken aback by his lover's harsh straightforwardness. Nick raises a hand to the mechanic's cheek and rubs the exhausted shadows under his blue eyes with a gentle thumb. Despite Ellis's shock with the simple answer he received, he cant help but notice how utterly tired he is and leans his cheek into that comforting hand.

Nick pushes off the door and leans forward to the point where he almost touches the southerner's forehead and whispers, "the ones we need to see are Coach and Rochelle, not the others. They were never part of our group…" Ellis closes his eyes and wraps his arms around Nick's shoulders to help hold himself up as he mumbles, "yeah… but Zoey, Francis…and Louis… they are fellow survivors. It's not nice ta just ignore 'em."

Nick and Ellis stay like this a while longer but Nick's doubt and worry returns. Suddenly his voice disrupts Ellis's relaxation firmly, "El, where were you after work, before you came home?" Blue eyes open and look into the green eyes of the man before them. "I was in my car… on the way here."

Nick shakes his head and narrows his eyes, "no, I mean where you were that hour you were late in coming home…?"

Ellis's eyebrows furrow in concern but he starts to become uneasy by Nick's sudden hostility. Nick becomes suspicious as his mechanic starts to back away from him. The conman follows the unnerved southerner with a new anger in his eyes. Ellis stutters, hoping he could answer Nick's question and stop the man from acting like this, "I-I told ya before! I had ta work late! Someone came in late an' they really needed their car fixed!"

The conman pauses in his approach; maybe that was the truth, maybe Ellis really did stay late working, nothing else. Nick is about to stop this suspicion and distrust but then something hits him. His eyes flare again and he advances quickly on Ellis. The southerner has to back up quickly to avoid being run into by the angry man but soon finds himself up against a wall.

Ellis yelps when two hands ram into the wall on either side of his head. The sound of skin impacting hard against reinforced plaster deafens him for a few seconds. His blue eyes widen as an edge of fear enters him. He slips his hands automatically fly to Nick's chest, trying to put as much distance between them as possible. But the gambler doesn't make any attempt to push away the hands from his chest. Instead he whispers quietly with a shaky voice, "was… was Keith there too…?"

Keith is Ellis's best friend since before the apocalypse. The two are practically inseparable which makes him a keen target of Nick's jealousy. Ellis looks up to Nick, caught off guard by the quiet question. But he find's his gambler's head hanging down at an angle where his face is out of sight from Ellis. The southerner's fingers curl, twisting around the fabric of Nick's shirt. He is becoming increasingly worried for his best friend and lover. Ellis doesn't know what to do but, against his better judgment, answer's truthfully, "yeah, Keith is always there, ya know this Nick. Dave was there too… are yew alright?"

So now Keith is a suspect as well, along with Ellis's other friends; Dave. The three are so close that Nick has a hard time competing against them for Ellis's attention. Nick suddenly bites his lower lip, a habit that Ellis recognizes whenever the gambler is under a lot of stress. The larger man pushes off from the wall and starts to pace back and forth in the middle of the entryway.

Ellis stays against the wall, utterly confused by Nick's behavior. But then the gambler starts to fire off more questions, "Ellis, when Zoey talks to you, you get all nervous as if you still have a crush on her." The conman stops his pacing and turns his head to meet Ellis's eyes again, continuing seriously, "do you still like her…?" Nick knows for a fact that Ellis is Bi, not completely gay. But now that fact seems to be bothering him more then ever, now that it means he can lose his southerner to any gender.

The mechanic blushes immediately after having processed the question. His eyes widen in disbelief and stares disbelievingly into Nick's eyes. Finally he gains the words to answer, "w-well… I did like her… but now I jus' git all shy an' uncomfortable 'round her…" Nick's eyes narrow for a moment before continuing his irritating pacing.

He doesn't waste another moment before bombarding Ellis with another question, "what about Francis? You always seem so amused by him… why do you like him so much?" A hint of annoyance flicks across Ellis's eyes and he takes his time answering this one. Why is Nick asking him all of these questions anyway? It doesn't make sense.

Finally after a few moments of tense silence, Ellis answers the question, "I don't find 'em amusin'. I jus' think his tattoos are cool. Besides he's not as bad a guy as ya make 'em out ta be. In fact I think you guys have a lot in common…"

Nick freezes mid-pace. The conman turns his head slowly to the southerner, a look of rage in his eyes, "what's that supposed to mean…?" Ellis's annoyance is replaced with hesitation. Maybe he went too far to compare Nick to someone he really doesn't like. Ellis looks down to the ground but sticks with his opinion, nodding slightly, "w-well… I just think ya guys could get along more… if ya realized ya'll are similar… that's all."

Nick shakes his head, stopping himself from snapping Ellis's head off. The gambler stops his pacing and brings a hand up to his eyes and forces himself to calm down. He sighs one more time and collects his thoughts. Ellis does seem to be telling the truth. He hasn't shown any hints that he's lying. Nick can tell when some one is lying, that is why he's so good at what he does. If he couldn't tell a lie from the truth then they would be sleeping on the streets living on what little Ellis makes.

Nick furrows his brows in discomfort, wondering why the worm of doubt has yet to leave him. Suddenly, however, arms around his waist rip him from his concentration. Ellis, desperate for Nick to snap back to normal, is willing to distract the troubled man with his body. Nick lifts his head from his hand to see what the southerner is up to but finds that a pair of soft lips are waiting for him to do this. The gambler grunts his disagreement but then cant help but fall for the kiss and closes his eyes.

Ellis lets the man go after a few moments and opens his eyes to stare his lover down, "Nick, you need ta go ta bed… your really stressed out."

Yeah? Whose fault is that? Nick frowns a little but then Ellis suddenly presses his body against the conman's, making the man's breathe catch in his throat. The southerner runs his lips against the gambler's neck as he mumbles, "If ya go to bed with me… I can help yew get undressed…" Nick swallows hard and has a hard time regulating his breathing. He curses himself for helping Ellis become as seductive as he is right now, missing how nervous and awkward mechanic was whenever he would try anything romantic.

But now here he is rubbing his arms along Nicks back, pressing his chest against the gambler's, molding their bodies together. It takes all of Nick's self control to pry Ellis off of him. Even through his calm composure, Ellis can tell the man is suffering. Nick's voice however, wavers under Ellis's stare, "n-n-no… I'm… n-not in the mood right now Ellis…" that was a lie. The most obvious of lies. But Nick feels slightly sick, imagining how Ellis could use the skills taught to him, to convince anyone to a round of sex.

But Ellis blinks and seems a little disappointed but shrugs. He moves his arms to wrap around the gambler's neck and shoulder, "alright… but can we at least cuddle?" Nick smiles and nods. There's nothing wrong with being wrapped in one another's arms, right?

Wrong. Apparently Ellis has been completely enticed by Nick's subtle change in outfit the entire night. So when the conman ventured near their bed on his journey to the closet, the southerner pounced and tackled the man to the mattress; where Nick wrestles the mechanic now, squirming underneath his lover as he gasps, "Ellis! Stop!" He tries to push the not so little guy off but to no avail. Ellis may be small in size but he is just as strong as Nick, if not stronger thanks to his line of work. And right now, he is determined to take off the shirt that has taunted him all day.

The way Ellis sees it; it should be illegal to look as good as Nick does in such a simple shirt. And it angers him when something could look so good _and_ be so close to his man's body without it being himself. To top it all off the shirt is partially open, smugly flaunting the body he desires so very much. Oh that damn shirt is coming off.

But before that he can even start, with unexpected strength, Nick shoves the southerner with a snarl; very strategically he used the palms of his hands to push Ellis's exposed side, catching the smaller man off balance and successfully freeing himself from the mechanic's torture. Ellis grabs his side with a gasp as he's sent toppling to the floor. The amount of force the gambler exerted with his push was a little more then he meant, accidentally putting pressure on his lover's ribs. Although the strong cage of bone absorbed the shock of the impact, pain still courses through Ellis's body, warning his brain of a definite bruise later on.

Nick looks down to his lover on the ground, a little surprised by the southerner's sudden drop but any concern is pushed out by scorning grumpiness, "I warned you; the next time you try to tear off another one of my shirts, I was going to hurt you! Ellis, these are expensive!" The southern mechanic looks up from where he sits on the floor, taking his hand from his side to grab his conman's leg. Nick blinks and barely has enough time to react before his leg is pulled and he is dragged over the edge of the bed to fall on his butt, hard.

The gambler takes a sharp inhale as his tailbone screams in pain, he clenches his eyes shut and his legs start to instinctively curl into his body. Ellis smirks and gets on all fours, crawling into his lover's lap; forcing Nick's legs down to make room for him. The conman opens one eye when he feels the familiar weight on his lap. Ellis takes the man's face in his hands and plants a soft kiss on the lips in front of him. Reluctantly, Nick's pain ebbs away and is slowly replaced by the satisfaction of a loving kiss.

Ellis releases the conman's mouth to lean back with a smirk as he teases, "Ya know, for a smart ass, your ass is really sensitive." Nick frowns, not amused by this comment but the southerner snatches his lips again before he can put voice behind his particularly naughty response. Giving up, the gambler leans back against the soft bed and closes his eyes. His sarcasm and acidity start to disappear as his lover's essence takes hold of him and forces him to relax, enjoying the gentle lips against his.

The southerner smiles against the man's mouth and hesitantly slips his tongue from between his lips to tap on Nick's sensitive skin. The conman refuses to budge at first but Ellis quickly solves this by pulling himself against the larger man's chest and tilting his head to the side to get a better angle, then proceeding to drag the rough surface of his tongue against Nick's bottom lip. In reality, the last step was really all he needed but the extra measures just serve as an overkill of sensations, causing Nick to very willingly open his mouth with a long moan which is quickly cut off by Ellis's hungry tongue.

The southerner emits a moan of his own, enjoying the presence of his usually dominate partner. Although the open-mouth kissing is very arousing, Ellis respects Nick's unwillingness to have sex and keeps the make-out session short and sweet. The southerner intertwines his tongue with the gamblers', swapping saliva with the man before withdrawing his sensory organ from the warm cavern; much to Nick's inner complaint.

The conman opens his calculating green eyes to meet Ellis's vivid blue orbs, happy with their exchange. Nick sighs and lifts his hands to the southerner's shirt. He starts to take off the smaller man's clothing but pauses when he finds the mechanic's fingers hastily fumbling with his blue striped shirt. With another sigh, this time one of annoyance, Nick grumbles, "Don't get your hopes up… I'm really not in the mood tonight… I'm not feeling too well." Ellis's head lifts to sourly meet eyes with the gambler again but the disappointment fades and concern enters the blue orbs.

He knew alerting the mechanic of his queasy stomach would make the man worry, and Nick hates to make Ellis worry; but he had to stop the attempts at getting him riled up before they started working. The gambler brings a hand to the side of Ellis's face, cupping his hand around the southerner's ear and slipping his fingers underneath the man's hat. This gesture is a familiar comfort for the mechanic as he instinctively leans his head into the hand which, in response, starts to caress his scalp as the fingers play with the hair tucked behind his ear and under his hat.

Nick smiles warmly as he reassures his southerner, "don't worry, my stomach is just disagreeing with dinner" _especially after seeing you with two of our guests…_ Nick can't help but think as he continues to rub his fingers soothingly through his lover's hair. Ellis's concern starts to fade but he scolds Nick with a sharp tone, "ya shoulda told me that before. I woulda left ya alone…" his concern returns with a bit of shame as he finishes what he is saying with a whine, "I'm sorry Nick…"

_See? This is why you keep things to yourself and let him do what he wants with you! Next time keep your mouth shut you selfish bastard._ Nick sighs and leans his head forward, connecting his lips to the southerner's left temple. After a few warm seconds he mumbles against the man's skin in his husky whisper, "I can probably handle a few rounds, Ail…" He feels the head beneath him shake slightly and heave as a reluctant sigh forces itself through the smaller body.

Ellis lifts his head to make eye contact with his love as he smiles faintly, "naw, it's alright. We should be going to sleep anyway. I gotta get up early to finish up today's work." Nick visibly frowns at the sound of this. Usually the two enjoy a good snuggle session before Ellis has to leave for work; since the southerner can never seem to wake up before his conman. The southern mechanic smiles apologetically before continuing, "but I thought that maybe, if yew feel well enough, we could snuggle tonight. Ya know, make up for the time we'll lose tomorrow mornin'."

That sounded fine to the gambler. So the two quickly got undressed, except for their boxers, Ellis taking conquest of his rival of clothing as he smoothly takes the conman's shirt off and throws it to the armchair Nick occupied earlier that day. Soon the light was off and, taking up less than a quarter of their large bed, the two are wrapped in each other's grasps.

Arms and legs entangled within a mass that Nick and Ellis can only call comfort. Although they got rather lost and confused by whose arm is whose or which leg is where, the couple seem to forget the existence of their limbs when the warmth of one another encase them in a sense of belonging. It really doesn't matter to them where their bodies are as long as they are as close as they can get to each other.

They're warm breath intermingles as they achieve a greater feeling then what they do during sex. Not to say their sex wasn't fantastic. Their love-making combines the two physically while this, being pressed and tangled in one another mixes the two in a much stranger way; as if their completely different spirits are joined together to coexist as one living mass.

Needless to say, the intense warmth of the moment, as usual, quickly claims the two, sending them into a deep and fitful sleep. However, tonight, Nick can not seem to rest. No matter how much he buries himself into the presence of Ellis, sleep just can't overcome his insistent worrying.

The gambler presses his head under Ellis's neck and into the man's chest, taking a large inhale of the southerner's scent. Usually just a whiff of the mechanic's musky smell of sweat and car grease, a smell that tends to get to other people but seems to calm the conman's nerves and sends him into a good kind of unconsciousness. But no matter how much of the scent he breathes in, no matter what he does, Nick can't seem to sleep. Memories, one memory in particular seems to be bothering him.

Nick feels a loud groan of utter frustration creep up on him but swallows the urge, not wanting to wake his partner. He's stuck. Nothing he can do will rid him of this thought eating away at him. The memory is fairly recent and he figures it is where his doubt of Ellis's faithfulness started.

It was a few weeks ago. The couple was going to see a scary movie, something about a boy who saw the deaths of people linked to some murderer in his dreams, something shitty like that. Nick really just wanted some time to be with his lover, to get him away from his work, and if he had to see a crappy movie in order to achieve this goal then so be it.

Before they went into the actual movie theater to get their seats, Ellis went to the over priced snack bar to buy some over priced candy that Nick would later complain about being over priced. But he wouldn't dare deny his southerner of his sweet tooth.

The mechanic picked out his usual: watermelon Sour-patch Kids, while Nick had grabbed some chocolate while at a gas station on the way over to the theater. Ellis looked back to the unhappy gambler and asked if getting an icy was alright. Of course it was. But the price wasn't. There was to be much complaining after he paid more then six dollars on a box of candy and a drink.

It was there that they met her. Ellis was pointing out what flavor icy he wanted to an attractive woman behind the counter. She seemed cheery enough, laughing at Ellis's remark on the different sizes of cups. It was then that things turned for the worst; when the girl mistook Nick as a well-dressed but impatient customer waiting for the charming southerner to make up his mind; completely unrelated to said southerner.

As the woman's colleague was filling Ellis's large cup with red slushie, she leaned over the counter and rested her head on her hand, face in front of the southerners, as she smiled and curtly asked, "this may seem a little strait-forward, but are you single?" The southern mechanic blushes at her question and Nick froze. _He'll say no, you know how he is; it takes him a while to answer attractive girls..._ But the length of time it took Ellis to finally shake his head was far too long for Nick. Then the southerner's answer in words caused the gambler much concern, "N-no… well… not exactly… I'm with someone. Well… no, yeah, I'm with somebody."

The girl makes a face that could only be described as confusion. So it was up to Nick to clear things up for her… although a little violently. The white-suited man, who was previously just tapping his foot impatiently, suddenly appeared beside the delightful southerner, slamming the palm of his hand onto the clear glass counter beside the girl's head. As she reared back Nick snarled, "He's with me!"

That settled that. The girl quickly passed the food and drink to the flustered man she was just having a pleasant chat with and accepted the money from the well dressed man whose narrowed green eyes never left her for a second until the transaction was completed. Ellis, blushing from embarrassment, swiftly dragged the conman away from the frightened girl.

Although Nick was angry at the woman for hitting on _his_ Ellis he couldn't stop the torrent of questions that arisen from the southerner's hesitant response. _Why had he paused for so long? Does Ellis really consider himself open?_ The most concerning fact was that the southerner hesitated answering to a girl. Sure the mechanic had a crush on Zoey at one point but… he must realize that he's pretty much gay. It's fine to be Bi, Nick considered himself Bi but… Ellis? Why couldn't the southerner just stay completely his, without more potential competition?

Nick opens his eyes, an overflow of stress overtaking him. Sweat had started collecting across his brow and his breathing his coming in gasps.

He has to find a way to stop this; to claim Ellis for himself. And he thinks he has the perfect solution.

The gambler calms his breathing and swallows his stress. Yes, his plan _will_ work; he will get the point across to Ellis. And the conman plans on going through with his plan as soon as possible. Tomorrow. Nick can't help but smirk as his well thought out plan is checked and checked again inside his brain, coming up with various outcomes. A part of him feels sympathy for his lover but mostly he feels like it is necessary to keep the love of his life by his side forever.

So, with the satisfaction of his plan, the conman finally closes his eyes for a much needed rest.

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Finally! An ok ending! I hate it when stories end abruptly so, this should hold you until I write some more. Haha. Really, altogether these three chapters are about 19 pages!

**o.o**

**I need a life!**

**Anyway I hoped you guys liked it, please review!**

**~ Whitewolf535**


	4. Chapter 4: Insomnia?

**Oh my gosh! People are actually reading my story! You don't know _how_ gratifying that is to know! Thank you all who have been reading! ^^ **

**Although this chapter is shorter then the last… but don't worry, my friend is pressuring me to write since she's apparently a big fan of my stories… oh well**

**Enjoy!**

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Unfortunately Nick received no such rest. All night the man tossed and turned in the covers until eventually he had worked himself free from Ellis's loving embrace. His brain tormented him all night, allowing him a few hours of sleep between even longer periods of restless thinking. Soon the dark cloak surrounding condo lifted and the early rays of the summer sun woke the gambler.

Nick opens his eyes, staring at the light shade of blue cast upon the sky. The irritating chirps of the early rising birds seem to be the last straw to Nick patients as he finally gives up on sleep. The gambler sits up and swings his legs over the edge of the bed. He brings both hands to drag over his face and through his messy dark brown locks. One hand returns to his forehead and he presses his thumb and forefinger against his eyes as his other hand falls at his side.

Everything is quiet, except for the birds outside of course. Even with the reassurance of his plan Nick was still plagued by the images his mind had conjured of his southern lover and with other people. Keith, Zoey, Francis… even the girl from the movie theater. Nick utters a groan of frustration as the thoughts re-enter his brain.

The conman shakes his head before they get too deep again and looks back to his the sleeping figure of Ellis. The thick comforter is wrapped around the small southerner but still Nick can see the faint raise and fall of the man's chest. Through the fabric that surrounds the mechanic Nick can practically see the peaceful look on that young face that brings him so much comfort. The conman suddenly gets the urge to see it, move the sheets that cover that expression that will ease his tormented heart and bring him peace.

Just as Nick is about to lean over and brush the fabric that is obscuring his lover's face, his green eyes are pulled away by the time on the clock just past the Ellis's figure. It's about 5:30 or so. The gambler frowns; Ellis's alarm will go off in about half an hour.

With the immense protest from every bone and nerve in his body, Nick withdraws himself off the bed and away from his sleeping lover. He can't bother the southerner now; he can't risk waking the man who does all the hard work in this house. Or maybe something inside Nick doesn't _want_ to face the loving eyes of the southerner.

With another shake of his head, the gambler escapes the room of his torture and heads downstairs to get as far away from his thoughts as possible. Through television. Not that he thought it would work really but it was something. The exhausted conman flops down onto the couple's favorite sofa and grabs the remote. He's about to flip on the T.V. when he notices a stray beer can next to the chair Francis had been sitting in during his visit last night. The always irritable gambler rolls his eyes and shakes his head once more but this time in disgusted annoyance, "stupid ape…"

He leans over and snatches the can before leaning back on the couch. He frowns when he feels that there is still plenty of the drink left. Although Nick hates the muscular man, he hates even more to waste something perfectly usable. So, with a shrug, the gambler takes a swig of the beer as he turns on the rather large flat-screen T.V.

Immediately afterwards he regrets doing so, wrinkling his nose as the bitter drink mixes with the taste of morning in his mouth. He swallows quickly before choking, hating how the day has started so far. Nick sets the rather unpleasant drink down on the table beside the arm of the couch and tries to take his mind off the after taste by focusing on the screen in front of him.

The man lowers the volume as the news plays, telling him about the weather and the like. Soon he finds himself distracted to the point that he can't really think at all. He knows that that probably isn't a good thing and that the news is just shutting his brain down all together; but at least it's keeping him away from thoughts about Ellis.

Until of course he hears the loud alarm goes off. Nick almost jumps as the radio station Ellis likes blares and snaps him out of his boredom induced daze. His wide green eyes travel to the direction of the entryway, knowing that within the next ten or so minutes a confused and flustered Ellis will come down looking for him. What can he say to explain his absence from bed? Or why he isn't snuggled up to the southerner right now?

The conman's heart beat starts to pick up just at the thought of all those unanswerable questions the mechanic will ask just with his eyes, let alone his words. Nick doesn't think he can face those hurt blue eyes asking him why he wasn't there to greet them as they opened up this morning. The gambler's panicked green eyes suddenly harden; just act like its normal. It's completely ok to come down and watch some mind numbing T.V. after having a troubled night of no sleep. Yeah, that's good enough. It should convince the southerner.

So when Nick hears the foot steps of his lover stumbling down the wooden hall into the kitchen he forces himself to focus on the television once again. Ellis's hand shows up first, gripping the corner of the wall as the hall opens up into the kitchen/living room; apparently needing support to keep his heavy body up in his state of awaking. The southerner yawns as he enters the room, standing tall as he stretches.

Nick glances and his breath catches; oh God, he hasn't even gotten dressed yet. Not like he did of course. Ellis was about to be greeted by his lover stretched out on their couch with nothing but a pair of poker-print boxers on: not a bad sight considering he had just woken up. Although the gambler really wishes that he had taken the extra time it takes to throw on something. Hell a towel would be better then what he has now.

Ellis finally glances over nonchalantly to see his gambler in all his glory. From the corners of his eyes Nick can tell that the sight he offered just made the mechanic's day, making him frown of course; now he just hopes Ellis doesn't come over asking for a quickie before going about his day. But the southerner asks no such thing, instead the young man tilts his head to the side and gives the gambler a questioning look as he inquires, "yew feelin' alright Nick? I got a little concerned when yew wasn't next to me this mornin'"

The gambler allows his green eyes to flick over to Ellis in acknowledgement before moving them back to the television and answering, "I couldn't sleep…" From the corners of his eyes the conman can see Ellis bobbing his head in his thought, something he always does when processing something Nick says that requires a little thinking. Although this time Nick fails to understand why his simple sentence needs any contemplation at all. Unless the hick found something odd about his answer or maybe he had a weird tone when he answered.

The southerner stops his nodding and swivels his head back to face Nick as he asks with some concern in his voice, "if your still feelin' sick than maybe yew should see a doctor or somethin'." At the sound of this the conman finally turns his head to face the mechanic with critical eyes. If he continues on like he is, Nick knows he'll cause the southerner to go into some mild state of depression with concern for him. That's the last thing he wanted to do to the poor man.

"No, I just have a lot on my mind I guess. Ellis don't worry." He gives Ellis a warm reassuring smile and it seems to work, for the southerner brightens up and returns the smile. Sometimes it's more difficult to convince the mechanic of his well being but Nick is grateful that this time is not one of those moments.

Convinced that his lover is alright, Ellis moves on and prepares himself for work. He rushes up the stairs to throw on his usual attire, his Bull Shifter's t-shirt, overalls and mechanic hat, before he comes back down for breakfast. Nick stays on the couch but shifts his attention from the T.V. to his lover as they make conversation. They pause mid-talk when the clock in the kitchen seems to grab both their attention.

They look at the blinking numbers with unpleasant distain as they remind both men that it was time to separate yet again. Nick glares at the digits on the clock before returning his eyes to his beloved southern mechanic. An old argument arises within him and, against his better judgment, he puts voice to it, "you know… you don't _need_ to work. You can retire early and we can spend more time together…" The gambler is right. With the amount of money he brings in every other month, Ellis really doesn't need to go to work.

However, Ellis has already heard this and recognizes the amount of loneliness his lover must endure everyday but he has his reasons for work. So with a sigh, Ellis turns from his position at the sink, having been putting his bowl of cereal away, and gives the conman his blue eyes full of hurt and frustration, "Nick… ya know why I work… I really love it! And I wouldn't be able ta see Keith or Dave either…" Nick flinches at the injured expression on the southerner's face brought on by the repeated urging and tempting of his lover. The gambler looks down, putting a stop to the conversation before it excels. It always ends the same, Ellis urging Nick to stop trying to convince him out of his dream job, while making himself feel like shit all day for disturbing his lover in the first place.

Ellis sees the look of defeat on his conman's face even as it lowers to stare at his feet. The southerner furrows his eye brows in deep concern as he walks over into the living room. He sits down beside Nick and grabs the man's shoulders, pulling the larger man into him. The gambler heaves an involuntary sigh as Ellis runs his fingers through the dark, messy hair.

"You know I miss ya, Nick… I wish I could spend more time with ya…" Suddenly he perks up as a thought hits him, "ya know, since there was a lotta work yesterday, I'm sure Keith an' Dave will let me get off early. I'll make sure ta be home by lunch, I promise." Ellis's blue eyes get the satisfaction of seeing Nick's green eyes lift to look at him with a glimmer of pleasure and joy from these words.

The gambler sits up and stares into his lover's eyes, "you promise?" The southerner nods enthusiastically and Nick allows himself a grin, truly happy to hear this. The gambler rewards the mechanic with a kiss chock-full-of-love. But it ends too soon for both of them when Ells looks to the clock and grumbles against those loving lips, "I… gotta go…" He pulls away from Nick's hypnotizing mouth and gives the man an apologetic smile, "I'll see ya at lunch though."

He leans in and gives his lover a peck on the lips before standing and staring down as Nick answers with some disappointment, "I'll see you by lunch." The look of displeasure fades when he looks up to Ellis and gives him another smile.

With that, the mechanic left to work, leaving his poor, lonely gambler alone by himself. However, Nick has a schedule on how to spend his time: to act out on his plan to keep Ellis by his side forever. About a half an hour after the southerner left, the conman got up from his seat on the couch and traveled upstairs to get dressed.

He throws on his usual white suit and blue undershirt, something he grew accustomed to during the zombie induced hell. The man runs a comb through his hair, slicking it back as usual before returning downstairs for his wallet and car keys. Just as the man is about to leave and follow through with his plan, he pauses a moment. He stares down at a blank sheet of notebook paper they use for grocery lists and got an idea; if he is going to keep Ellis by his side then he is going to make it blatantly obvious that the two need each other even if his methods are somewhat cruel.

Nick smirks before grabbing a pen and scribbling a message down on the sheet of paper:

_Ellis, _

_I'm leaving and won't be back anytime soon,_

_So don't hold your breath._

_Love, _

_Nick_

The message is truthful but is so vague that it is almost painful. Nick knows that anyone who is so madly in love will read that and automatically assume that their lover has left them for good. The gambler smiles to himself, knowing how Ellis would take one glance at that note and immediately break down crying. That is, if the southerner loves him…

Nick shakes the thought out of his head before heading to the garage and his car.

**

* * *

**

Oh Nick is such an evil bastard… lul no actually I kinda thought this was fairly creative! Well… for a mind that is kinda blank right now at least.

**But have you guy's noticed? Nick is portrayed as an insomniac by a lot of people. Which is strange cuz wouldn't you think someone might get a lot of rest **_**after**_** a zombie apocalypse? Because the stress and stuff would be gone. But I guess it would make sense if you couldn't get a lot of rest for fear of a zombie eating you while you slept… oh well… I'm rambling**

**I hope you guys review and such! ^^**

**~ Whitewolf535**


	5. Chapter 5: Studs

5 hours pass or so until he comes home after a little window shopping. His arm is slack with the weight of the plastic bag in his hand. He smiles, knowing Ellis is home after seeing his car parked outside, and expects the hollow sound of someone weeping after reading that note he left. But there's nothing, just silence.

Nick makes a face and tilts his head; maybe the grieving southerner is upstairs? As he steps into the larger part of the building he hears something. Something like whispering. The smile returns and he walks toward the source of such sound.

He follows the faint whispering to the dinning room. The gambler stops in the kitchen when something catches his eyes; his note. It sits on the counter, untouched. Damn, he was really hoping Ellis would be clutching the small scrap of paper containing his lovers' last words to him as he sobs and blames himself for Nick's leaving him. But no. Here it is, lying on the counter. Oh well, maybe that picture is a little too dramatic for Ellis.

Nick disregards the scrap of paper and proceeds into the living room where he finds the small figure of his lover hunched in a corner. Yes! So he is grieving over the loss of the gambler. The conman closes his eyes in satisfaction, picturing the scenario in his head now: Nick would clear his throat; Ellis would turn around and stare in amazement at the return of his lost lover before he would rush over and throw his arms around Nick. Then the gambler would respond in fake bewilderment and say something along the lines of, "what's the matter El? I was only gone for a while…" then the southerner would respond with some tear-choking mumble and Nick would comfort him. Either that or as soon as he cleared his throat Ellis would run up to him and smack him… Really, either situation sounds perfect to Nick.

So, with an eager smile, the gambler lifts a fist to his mouth to clear his throat. But then he stops when Ellis turns his head from the wall. The southerner's voice raises and he speaks clearly, not choking on tears, into a telephone. Maybe he was trying to find Nick? Nope. The next words that came from the mechanic's mouth dashed those hopes as he whines in embarrassment, "n-no Keith… that's too dirty!"

Now this is strange… Nick seems to notice the faint tint of red on the mechanic's cheeks as he listens to Keith's answer on the other line.

The gambler soaks in the situation in front of him: his southerner bent in a corner, talking on the phone with his best buddy Keith talking about something obviously dirty judging by the blush and words that were uttered. Not only that but also Ellis's is facing the wall, with his back to Nick and an arm seems to be positioned between his legs…..

Nick's head snaps up and he shrieks, "Ellis!" His fist tightens around the limp plastic handles of the bag as he glares furiously at his lover, "I thought you were done with 'Ellis-Time'!" The southerner jumps and twirls around to stand facing Nick with his back against the corner he was just facing. The gambler can barely hear Keith's, "Ellis-whut?" The southerner hangs up the phone before the shrill laughter can be heard.

Ellis gives the infuriated gambler a hesitant smile and laughter as he steps up to the man, "eh-heh hi there Nick! How're ya doin'?" The mechanic opens his arms for a welcoming hug but Nick's only response is a chilling glare. The southerner wishes the icy stare would disappear but then it just intensifies as the conman growls, "what. the. hell. were. you. doing. with. Keith?" The question is broken and the man has to take big inhales to calm himself down to the point where he stops thinking about actually going through with leaving Ellis.

The southerner brings a hand to the back of his head and scratches as he responds, "w-well we was jus' talkin' ya know. He was jus' helpin' me with somethin'…"

_Yeah! Like fucking yourself, the bastard!_ Nick closes his eyes and brings his free hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose, refraining from releasing his thoughts. Ellis tilts his head, not understanding why his best friend is acting like this. But before he can ask, Nick opens his eyes and swings out his arm in a wide gesture of angry-frustrated-confusion, "why aren't you crying damn it! You should be bawling on your knees, wondering what the hell you could have done to make me leave! Not calling that bastard Keith and having an 'over-the-phone' sex party! God, seriously, maybe I _should_ have left you for good!"

Ellis has _no_ idea what Nick is talking about but as soon as the mention of him leaving for good the southerners blue eyes widen and he cries out, "don't do that! Why would ya leave me Nick?" The conman blinks at the southerner before his eyes turn blank along with his voice, "you didn't even _see_ the note… did you?"

The mechanic, still freaking out about Nick's open threat about leaving, squeaks in concern and over stress, "what note?"

_He didn't read the note… he really didn't read the note._ Nick pivots on his heel and storms into the kitchen, as Ellis follows quickly behind, repeating his panicked question, "what note, Nick?" The conman walks over to the counter with the scrap of harmful paper and grabs it before promptly ripping it to shreds while Ellis watches. When the paper is successfully turned to dust, the gambler throws it away as Ellis inquires him of what was written on the note, and why he would possibly want to leave the life they shared.

Nick doesn't answer any of these questions and stays silent when he places the mysterious bag on the counter. Ellis finally gets the point, and tries to forget the drama his lover had caused, although he is still a little shaken up and scared. The southerner glances at the bag and tilts his head again but this time in curiosity, "what's that?"

The gambler sticks his hand in the bag and pulls out a black studded dog collar. He turns on his heels, eyes still blank and holds the collar up, replying calmly, "it's my backup plan."

Ellis's eyes drift to the strip of leather in the hands of his lover. Suddenly he brightens up, an overflow of optimism pushing up to the surface, "are we getting' a puppy?" He looks up to the gambler with a wide and joyous smile. Nick, taken by surprise by this sudden burst of energy, blinks before frowning and smacking the southerner's nose with the leash as he snaps, "no! We're not getting a damn dog!"

The mechanic reels back with a yelp, bringing a hand to his nose as he glares at the man in front of him. He rubs the bridge of his nose as he hisses, "what was that for? And why the hell did ya git a collar if yew ain't gettin' a dog?" Nick is oblivious to the first question and grins mischievously as he lifts the collar up as he approaches Ellis, "stay still please…"

This isn't good. No not at all. Ellis realizes this and starts to back up only to run into the kitchen island. Nick proceeds with his approach but then stops when Ellis throws two quivering hands up to stop him, laughing nervously, "t-this is a joke right? I mean why would ya put a collar on me?"

The gambler pauses and shifts his eyes up to the corner where the wall meets the ceiling; the place where the ability of thought apparently resides. His shoulders shrug up for a second as his green eyes fall on the confused and startled southerner in front of him as he nonchalantly says, "I don't know, thought it'd be kind of kinky?" The mechanic's eyes widen and Nick closes in on him.

The southerner doesn't know why he didn't just shove the other man away; perhaps he too liked the thought of having a physical symbol of their connection. Or maybe, just maybe, he was a little turned on by the collar in his partner's hand, the thought of Nick treating him like a bitch… with that dominating voice of his… _Stop it! You're startin' to drool…_

Ellis responds to his mental reprimand and shakes his head, clearing his head of the pictures that started to form in his head. The mechanic leans back, away from the outstretched arms. Nick sees the scowl upon his southerner's face and frowns, deciding to make this more of a demand instead of a polite proposal.

The gambler steps forward, placing a leg between Ellis's and suddenly leans forward, pressing his chest into the southerner's, pushing the man back until his back starts to arch. Ellis lets out an involuntary whimper, getting excited when the gambler's hips press against his but soon that moan turns into one of slight discomfort since the granite countertop of the island has a corner pressing into his back. Pretty soon Nick has his body completely covering Ellis's and makes a move to put the collar on his trapped southerner.

The mechanic notices the hands smoothly making their way up to his neck but he moves no movement to stop them, at least at first. It's just a collar right? It can come off easily. So for the moment, Ellis surrenders to the touch of his feisty lover and contributes to such sensations, moving his own hands to the back of Nick's head, gripping the dark locks with his fingers before pulling the man's face to meet his in a heated kiss. This time he lets the gambler have full dominance on him, enjoying the professional tongue that so eagerly explores his mouth for the umpteenth time.

Soft fingers brush against the southerner's throat, followed by the studded collar. Although the material isn't nearly as pleasant as the conman's smooth fingertips, it felt strange against his skin. The metal studs flat against the leather make the smaller man flinch, their cold temperature contrasting against the rising heat from the copious amounts of veins pulsing hot blood within his neck.

The length of leather is secured around his neck but Ellis can still feel his conman's fingers fumbling with something on the back of his neck. With a frustrated groan, Nick tears from the kiss and growls, "one second… I can't think strait when we're kissing…" Ellis grins widely, this was like music to the southerner's ears; it was rare to find an effective distraction for the gambler. Because in his line of work a distraction meant a mistake and a mistake meant well… a very angry casino owner and a room full of guns pointed at him.

Nevertheless Nick finds and solves the problem; and with a _snap_ the man is grinning and removing himself from a very unsatisfied mechanic. Ellis props himself up on his elbows and gives the gambler a good scowl, "why'd ya stop…? I was startin' ta like it…" Nick makes a face and rolls his eyes reaching forward and hooking a finger on the strip of leather around the southerner's neck before pulling on it. Ellis emits a slight grunt as his neck is suddenly pulled forward, his body following the motion kind of like a wave as he's tugged toward the nearest bathroom.

Nick turns to the only door in the hall between the entryway and kitchen/living room and opens it. The gambler flips on the light to reveal walls adorned with floral wallpaper. Nick hates this room the most, the dull colors and designs of the wall paper irks him to no end; however he refuses to spend the money to get rid of the shit-tastic paper and paint the walls in a color he could actually stand. The cramped bathroom features only a porcelain sink and toilet. But hanging above the sink is a plain, rectangular mirror that covers most of the wall it hangs on; you know, just incase someone wants to fix their hair while they're doing their business.

Anyway the gambler pulls the struggling southerner into the room with a swift tug, causing the smaller man to trip over himself and run into Nick. Ellis hisses in pain as his jaw makes impact with the conman's shoulder, clenching his eyes in fear at the sound of the loud crack that resulted. Feeling no immediate damage, the southerner opens his blue eyes and looks up to meet Nick's. The conman is looking down at him with an amused smirk and lifted eyebrow as he sneers, "Ellis, you never have been graceful, have you?"

The southerner shoots him a glare but then notices that Nick's arm is around his body, supporting it. Ellis blushes a little at how close they are, feeling as he had when they first started building an intimate relationship. Nick was always there to support him both physically and mentally; after all, no one can be optimistic all the time. The mechanic suddenly gets the urge to kiss the man but once he regained his composure, Nick let go of him and forced him to stare into the mirror with a rough push on his shoulder.

Ellis stares into the mirror but doesn't focus on the image before him, annoyed that his chance to kiss his lover was just taken away. But then the foreign object around his neck is brought to hiss attention. Ellis takes a few steps forward toward the sink to get a closer look. He leans over the porcelain sink, placing a hand for balance on the cold ceramics, and lifts his other hand to the collar around his neck. The southerner turns his head this way and that, pulling on the leather with pursed lips, examining the leather thoroughly.

It looks expensive. From what he can see at least. The shiny square studs reflect the unnatural light given off by the bathroom lights. The metal comes out to a dull point but not spikes like some dog collars; the one's owners like to put on their canines to make them look tough or something. These form small bumps really that look like spikes when looked on from the front. Although the collar isn't heavy, the material is a little irritating to the southerner's skin, making him fidget with it a little.

Ellis pauses with his examination to look at Nick in the mirror, who he finds staring at him with arms neatly folded against his chest. The mechanic makes a face and turns around to meet the real Nick, not the image of reflected light on the clear surface before him. His voice is skeptical as he asks, "so what exactly is the purpose of this? Yew plannin' on makin' me yur bitch tonight or somethin'?" At this the gambler smiles but shakes his head and responds gruffly, "no, not exactly."

The southerner narrows his eyes, becoming suspicious of his lover but then shrugs, straitening himself and bringing both hands to the collar, trying to find the buckle as he explains, "well, it's uncomfortable an' I don't really feel like doin' favors for ya tonight." There's a gleam in his eyes as he smirks, "I think I should be receivin' favors from yew tonight…"

Nick smirks and he tilts his head to the side a little, in a, _is that so?_ Kind of way. But that's when Ellis's fingers stumble upon something cold and metal. His movements stop for a few seconds before his fingers run over this strange object connected to his collar. There is a distinct loop of solid metal that widens at both ends to form some sort of box with a jagged hole at the bottom of it. Ellis's blue eyes widen and he turns back to the mirror, slamming his palm onto the sink again as his other hand turns the collar on his neck until the cold, heavy object is in front.

The mechanic's startled blue eyes stare dumbfounded at the metal object before gasping, appalled, "a lock! Ya put a lock on this!" He is only met by an evil sort of laughter as Nick chuckles at his lover's response. The lock connects two loops that are joined to the collars' ends. The leather is formed so that the ends come to two loops where the metal, formed as distinct half circles could fit in said loops where a lock could then be places, ensuring that the one wearing this strip of leather cannot get it off easily.

Obviously this isn't a normal dog collar. Ellis turns to Nick, mouth still open in shock as he stutters, "h-how… w-where… w-w-why? Why Nick!" The gambler stops his laughing with a sigh and a roll of his eyes, "it's not like it's gonna kill you Ellis, relax…" Ellis gives him a serious glare and clenches his fists but then the conman steps forward and looms over him, "besides… you needed to be punished for last night… among other things…"

Ellis looks into the man's eyes quizzically but then frowns pushes the man back with a growl, "Nick, git this thing offa me!" The conman smirks and shakes his head and grabs the southerner by his t-shirt and starts to pull him out of the room as Ellis complains, "hey! Don't pull my shirt, yew'll rip it!" With a sigh Nick obeys and instead grabs a sleeve from the mechanic's overalls and pulls him back into the kitchen.

Once at the counter, the gambler releases the southerner as he grabs his car keys. Ellis straitens his overalls as he grumbles, "yur goin' out again?" Although he's still mad at the cocky conman for putting this accursed collar on him, the southerner can't help but feel disappointed that his lover is leaving so soon. The mechanic looks up when he sees a slight nod from at the top of his line of sight. Nick tosses his keys in the air only to catch them in the palm of his hand, "yeah, I need to get a few things for the job I'm going to do next week."

Ellis's head sinks involuntarily, being reminded of the weeks he'll have to live without his best friend and now the gambler is determined to leave him alone to wallow in his lonesome. Nick lifts a brow, perplexed by the sudden droopiness his southerner is showing. But then he smiles and announces happily, "Ellis, your coming with me!" The mechanic lifts his head with a grin, happy to hear this.

But then it hits him. See, Ellis knows Nick very well by now after all their adventures together. And he knows how cunning the man is; and how cruel he can be at times… like now. The collar around his neck suddenly seems a lot heavier.

Ellis takes a step back, bringing his hands to the collar, "y-your goin' ta take this off… right?" He already knows the answer but it was worth a try. Nick's warm smile turns into a satisfied grin. Obviously he had hoped Ellis would ask that. With a cool tone Nick purrs, "Nope."

Great.


	6. Chapter 6: Lindt Truffles :D

Being paraded in public with a dog collar around his neck should cause for a lot of unwanted attention.

The gambler smoothly moves his arm up to curl a finger around the leather collar as he starts to walk past the flustered mechanic. And, with a sharp tug, Ellis is forced to follow the man. Of course the southerner valiantly tries to escape but the collar is well above his center of gravity, making it very hard to find enough balance to pull away from his cruel lover's grasp. But he puts up enough of a fight that Nick has to grip the leather with all of his fingers, not just one. That's a dignity boost right?

Not really, but it was something at least. By the time they reach the garage, Ellis has both hands trying to push the gambler's locked hand away from his neck but to no avail. Unfortunately for him however, Nick patients have finally run out and the gambler spins around with an infuriated hiss, "Ellis! Enough with the struggling! I swear I'll make your punishment _much_ worse if you continue as you are…"

The southerner pauses but feels little threat from his lover; after all, what else can he possibly do? Reluctantly though Ellis lowers his hands with an annoyed sigh. He promises himself that he'll make this as difficult as he possibly can on Nick. But later. For now he gets into the passenger side of Nick's fancy new BMW, tossing a glare up at the man who holds his door open politely, except for that cat-like grin on the man's face.

Nick moves around to the drivers' seat and he quickly starts the car and backs out of the short driveway their very nice condo provides. The two both submit to the silence that the car provides. Although they do not talk, the tenseness in the air alerts Nick of Ellis's discomfort about what he is being forced to do.

Of course it's understandable that a man would resent being dragged into public with something as humiliating as a collar around his neck. But it is necessary to keep the southerner by his side forever. If this doesn't get the point across then Nick swears to himself to get Ellis's head checked.

Anyway, the uncomfortable vibes disappear as soon as Nick starts to drive in the direction of the nearest city. Ellis stares in some form of amazement as the skyscrapers along the horizon slowly rise from their cityscape foreground. The innumerable windows reflect the midday sun, making it a mystery how drivers manage to stay focused as they speed down the freeway toward the almost enchanting scenery. Although Ellis enjoys nature, his deep interest in all things mechanic pumps with excitement at the sight of the tall buildings that have always represented growth in both human existence and technology. Surly Nick will allow him to take home one of the many run down cars in that metropolis and fix it?

Deep down, the southerner really hopes so. Nick glances over to his mesmerized lover and smiles at the excited expression and intelligent spark in the southerner's blue eyes as he tries to imagine all the automobiles just waiting for his loving attention.

The skyscrapers seem to surround the small car as the couple makes their way from the freeway and into the depths of the city. Tall buildings cast short shadows as the sun bears down on them. People walk along sun-baked sidewalks; some in thick, stuffy, air deprived groups while others enjoy their space as they inhale the smoldering oxygen and unforgiving heat in their tank-tops and shorts. Seeing all these people makes Nick appreciative of the air-conditioning his car provides but will soon be deprived of. Ellis glances over to his gambler, suddenly aware of the man's attire. A heavy white suit defiantly won't be comfortable for the man as they wander the city looking for whatever it was he needed.

Nick seems to notice as well, frowning deeply and wishing he had thought of the weather before exiting the house on a mission that could take hours during mid-summer heat. Maybe he could find something cheap just so he can be comfortable. His frown deepens, hating to spend money on an outfit he'll probably only wear once.

Ellis opens his mouth to suggest something but then Nick's eyes dart to the side of the road, spotting an opening in the row of cars that are parked along the side of the road. Skillfully, the conman parallel parks, making all who see such impressive talent cry with jealousy. But of course, it was Ellis who had taught him how to do it so well. After the professional job at parking, the southerner flashes the driver a proud smile, making Nick look away with a faint blush.

This little exchange is appreciated by both, since it was ultimately the first warm and "normal" occurrence between the two in that entire day. Ellis looks out his window and makes a contemplative face. The pavement of the sidewalk ripples with heat waves. Trees line the side of the walkway, making the summer heat seem a little more pleasant as dappled shadows are scattered along the length of path. But this does not solve their problem. However the movement at the corner of his eyes does.

Nick strips his heavy jacket, tossing it to the back seat and turning his attention back to his blue undershirt. The southerner watches with interest as the gambler rolls up his sleeves, exposing his light skin and the curves his muscles produce. But then Ellis's eyes follow the man's fingers as they trail to the buttons lining his chest. Saliva starts to pool in the mechanic's mouth as Nick's hands start to open up his shirt. Ellis can't take his eyes off of hands that expose the body he desires so much. He can practically feel the warmth that radiates off the conman's skin. It's been a while since the couple had sex thanks to various interruptions. So Ellis finds himself at the end of his rope, stuck in a car in the middle of a city filled with people with the sudden urge to take advantage of Nick's vulnerability.

Suddenly a gruff voice cuts through the mechanic's fantasy of he and Nick in the back of the car, making it rock back and forth much like a rocking horse, "if you continue to drool like that… we really will have to throw that shitty shirt away…" Ellis snaps out of his trance and shakes his head, bringing a hand up to his mouth, whipping the saliva from his lips. He lets out a slight whimper, blushing slightly as Nick chuckles.

Now with a little more exposure, Nick opens the door hoping that the open shirt will help him stay cool. He brings up a hand as the blinding light of the sun invades his eyes. Nick makes his way around to the other side of the car and looks down into the window of the car expectantly. Ellis refuses to move. He may find the gambler very enticing right now but it is not enough to make him set out into the light of day to have people stare at the symbolic collar around his neck. No. It won't happen.

A ringed forefinger curls in a graceful movement, beckoning him out of the car. Ellis stares up at his sunbathed lover smiling cleverly down at him. The blue shirt contrasts with his skin and causes the exposed flesh to glow. The gambler tilts his head and burns his eyes through the window of the BMW and into the man on the other side of the glass. Ellis shudders involuntarily as the gorgeous creature before him takes advantage of his previous fantastical images, running its slick tongue across its tantalizing lips in a movement only he can see.

Nick allows himself a quick chuckle as his seducing proves a success. The car door opens and a fairly turned on southerner finally reveals himself. He makes a lung for Nick, throwing his arms around the gambler's waist and smashes his lips against the conman's. Nick groans as Ellis presses and rubs his chest against the conman's, creating friction between their skins. But then the gambler laughs softly when a murmur of disapproval reaches both of them from a man and woman walking by.

The conman grabs the mechanic's shoulder's and pries the man off of him, "calm yourself down, boy." Ellis groans loudly, pressing back into Nick's hands, wanting desperately to continue. The gambler looks over his shoulder to stare at the couple walking away, with their heads pressed together, obviously talking about the openly homosexual couple making out in public, as if it should be illegal. But Nick enjoys annoying the hell out of strait couples, making a point to make a spectacle of himself with Ellis by his side.

The southerner frowns and pushes into Nick's hands once more. The conman stumbles back a few steps and rolls his eyes but with a sly smile, "Ellis I really need to look for something… maybe we can continue later, my pet." The southern mechanic stops his pushing and reels away at the nick-name, suddenly becoming aware of the collar again. Just as he's about to snarl an acidic threat, Nick spins on his heel and starts to walk away.

Just like that, the gambler moves on about his day, not caring how Ellis feels at the moment. Well the southerner will have nothing to do with the ignorant conman. Ellis turns back to the car and rests his hand on the door handle just in time to feel the lock click underneath his fingers.

The southerner turns slowly to face his lover who has stopped a short distance away with his keys in his hands and eye brows raised. Ellis frowns with a glare as he hisses, "ya know I can pick a lock…" Nick's brows furrow in mock concern before relaxing as their owner shrugs uncaringly, "Ellis, its in the middle of the day, where in the center of a populated people, in the snotty rich district I might add, and frankly I'm not in the mood to bail you out of jail." The gambler turns around again and starts to walk away, shouting over his shoulder to finish his admittedly convincing speech, "you can break through the windows for all I care, but I'm just saying you should probably consider your position before you do anything reckless."

_I'll break through your head before the end of the day!_ Seething with frustrated rage, Ellis reluctantly follows after his once appealing-now annoying boyfriend. The southerner stays some distance away from the conman with his hands stuffed in his pockets and head looking anywhere but facing the man in front of him. The infuriated man grinds his teeth as the burning heat in his cheeks brought on by the collar intensifies. Ellis glances up to stare at the blue covered back of his conman before looking away and grumbling just loud enough for Nick to hear, "I swear… I'll kill 'em for this… unforgivable." However, unintentionally, in Ellis's frustration, he gets a good chance to take in the scenery the city has to offer.

The street that the couple walks along now is lined with various shops belonging to familiar brands along with local businesses. Although the city is mostly comprised of tall skyscrapers containing businesses and company headquarters, this street mainly has one to two story buildings creating a more welcoming and less daunting feeling compared to the "all business-no fun" buildings surrounding this little shopping area. However, Nick is correct in labeling it the upper class area, BMW's, Cadillac's, and the occasional Audi, you know the ones they use in really high-budget movies; all of which Ellis admires greatly even though he has a Cadillac of his own.

Somehow the mechanic manages to pull his attention away from the highly expensive vehicles to look around at the types of shops around him. There are a few brands he can recognize but most are designer brands that he assumes he should probably know. The clothes and accessories have an unnatural shine as lights positioned over them try to make the displays as attractive as possible. Dresses cling to models, making Ellis sympathize for whoever tries to buy something that uncomfortable seeming.

Then there were the people. Men and women traveled either solo or as a pair, nothing more as if it is a requirement along this street. The southerner wrinkles his nose when he sees a man and woman, both in stuffy business attire. They look so unhappy in their dark suits that Ellis starts to feel the heat as if it was he in one of those heavy, irritating clothes.

The couple passes a store whose focus seems to be mainly on men's apparel. The southerner stops near the door, sure his lover will stop to shop here but Nick merely just glances at the suits displayed in the windows before continuing down the street. Ellis, puzzled by this, runs to catch up, keeping Nick's pace at his side. The mechanic glances back at the store, obviously confused, "Nick, where exactly are we goin'?"

The gambler side-glances his friend before returning his clear green eyes to stare strait in front of him, answering in a matter-of-fact kind of way, "We're getting out of this snotty district and heading that new out-doors mall. I parked here so no one breaks into our car…" The southern makes a slight face at his lovers' brilliance but shrugs and smiles as he slips his hand in the gambler' squeezing it ever so slightly as if he feared Nick would crumble if he clamped down any harder. The southerner watches as the conman looks down at the hand in his with a slight pink tint in his cheeks but then green eyes meet blue and all anger mixed embarrassment disappears.

The two travel through the paved streets, walking several blocks from where they had parked hand in hand. The side walk starts to lose the cover of trees as the couple travel deeper into the skyscrapers. It doesn't take long before the sidewalks become more crowded with people filtering this way and that, some with bright bags dangling at their sides.

However, the more people they come in close vicinity with the more self conscious Ellis becomes of his dog collar. The nervous southerner presses his shoulder into Nick's wanting comfort from the one who is putting him through this torture. The gambler looks down to his suffering lover and shows a sliver of sympathy and tilts his head to kiss the corner of Ellis's eye, forcing the southerner's eye to close. Then the gambler pulls his hand from the mechanic's only to move to his lovers' side to make his fingers dance across the sensitive skin, tickling the smaller man so that Ellis is at least laughing as he twists and turns away from the torturous fingers.

The conman grabs the giggling mechanic by the waist and pulls the smaller figure against his with a satisfied smile. The couple, relishing in the comfort of each other's company, is suddenly hit by a barrage of squealing girls, awing at the sight they just witnessed. Immediately the gambler's relaxation is replaced by irritation as he turns his head and narrows his sight to a group of teenage girls a short distance away, giving them the glare of their lifetimes.

The cooing stops and Ellis's nervousness returns. So much for that moment. Nick's scowl returns as he turns to look in front of him and Ellis fidgets, where he is pressed up against the gambler.

Soon the two find themselves surrounded by shops again but this time in a busier surrounding. Although it is crowded and claustrophobic, the area is much more relaxed and a little less critical then the other district they just came from. The outdoor mall is covered by an overhanging glass arch that stretches over the road and connects the buildings on both sides. The buildings are two levels, providing a walkway on the second level for people to explore the shops on the upper level.

Although most shops consist of clothing stores, there is quite a variety of stores in the mall. Shops featuring books, videogames, soaps and candles; even one dedicated completely to stamps. But Nick isn't after clothes or anything like that. No.

The conman's head swivels as he searches for his goal, searching for what he needs. Just as Ellis is about to explode from anxiety, he sees a spark in the observant green eyes of his lover. Finally, he found what he was looking for. Nick pulls Ellis along, hand still on the smaller man's hip, as he wanders through the crowd toward a building that stands out from the rest.

The store is painted green and has a soothing look to it. There is an overhang above the door, shingles lining the small structure. A small sign hangs just below the overhang beside the door. The small, decorative, plank of wood swings from a curved piece of metal nailed to the wooden side of the building as a small gust blows through the mall.

The southerner has to lean his head back to see around Nick's head and catch a glimpse of the sign as his gambler pulls him into the store. But he already knows what the shop sells even before his brain processes the words written on the sign. The mesmerizing smell of chocolate hits his senses right as they step into the store.

The clerk behind the counter looks up when the bells on the door chime, alerting him of customers. A warm and welcoming smile brightens up the young man's face as he cheerily greets them, "good morning!"

Nick nods and smiles back to the young clerk in greeting before releasing Ellis and turning to the southerner, "I'm meeting a man next week… he has a daughter who is a big fan of chocolate." He pauses, noticing how the southerner can barely focus on what he's saying thanks to the smell in the shop. The gambler smiles at the cuteness displayed by his southerner as he chuckles, "Ellis, you can pick something out as well."

Almost immediately the mechanic's eyes widen and a bright smile spreads across his face. Like a child in a candy shop, Ellis spins around and starts to explore the shop full of mouth watering chocolate. Nick shakes his head and starts to walk toward the clerk.

Meanwhile, Ellis is looking around the store eagerly. The southerner wanders around the small rectangular shop, face bright and as innocent as a kid. Just as he reaches up to grab the blue bag of his favorite dark chocolate Lindt Truffles he spots a figure in the corner of his eyes. He turns his head to find Zoey with her hand firmly holding a bag at her waist while her free hand is at the back of her head, giving the southerner the impression that she's fairly overwhelmed by the selection of sweets in front of her. The southerner's cheeks redden a little as the beauty of the girl in front of him stuns him again. But he shakes his head and glances to his equally handsome gambler before walking toward Zoey.

"Hey Zoe!" The young woman jumps at the sound of her name and she twirls to face the southerner approaching her. Zoey lets out the breath that was caught in her throat and gives Ellis a scolding glare before greeting him, "hey El. What are you doing here?" But then her eyes narrow down at something below his head and then widen, "Ellis, why the hell are you wearing a collar?" The southerner pauses, having completely forgotten about the length of leather around his neck until now. Ellis's hands fly up to cover the collar as his face reddens even more from embarrassment as he stutters, "i-it's n-nothing! It's a… a… um… an accessory! Yeah! Just a cool accessory." The southerner tries to give her a convincing smile but fails. Zoey's free hand pries Ellis's away to expose the collar as she whispers, "I'd maybe believe you if I didn't know Nick… and if it didn't have a lock on it."

Ellis closes his eyes and grinds his teeth as Zoey pulls the lock forward to examine it. The female makes a face, not sure whether to be concerned for her southern friend or if she should just treat this as something normal. She releases a small exhale, knowing, despite her dislike of Nick, that the gambler would never intentionally harm Ellis in any way; except for maybe his dignity. Ellis opens one eye slightly to find the girl stepping back while shaking her head, "there's nothing I can do about this El…" her green eyes lift from the collar to meet his eyes, "so what _are_ you doing here?" Ellis blinks before he and turns to look over at Nick who is talking to the young man behind the counter, "well, Nick's gotta go sometime next week an' he's gonna get someone some chocolate."

As soon as Zoey sees the white clothed gambler she becomes nervous, shuffling on her feet and glancing at the bag in her hand. Noticing this, Ellis opens his mouth to ask if she's ok but is cut off when she hisses the answer to his unasked question, "damn, I'm here to get something Nick _can not_ see!" She looks up at the mechanic as she explains, "for next week…" Ellis blinks in confusion.

But then his blue eyes brighten in understanding. The southerner nonchalantly turns his back on the gambler and whispers to the girl, "milk chocolate will work, he ain't too picky... I don't think." Zoey lifts a brow and shakes her head, resting her free hand on her hip, making the mechanic's face redden as his attention is drawn to her figure, as she responds smugly, "I'm not here to buy him candy… _I _want some chocolate but there is so much to choose from here, it's confusing." Ellis blinks and seems a little flustered, kind of taken aback by his misunderstanding. Then the girl turns her head to side glance at Nick to double check he is still distracted but then she connects her green eyes with Ellis's blue orbs, sounding mildly concerned, "so if he's leaving next week… do you think he'll really wont mind you coming to my house for a week? I'm pretty sure he'd rather kill me then let you come over if he knew the things we'll be doing."

Ellis, still flustered by his mistake stutters a quick and quiet response, "n-no! H-he wouldn't do that!" Zoey seems unconvinced but glances at the bag then to Nick again, whispering to the southerner when she sees that the gambler has his back to them, "I got something for next week though, do you want to check it? Just in case it doesn't work?" The mechanic nods slightly but blushes deeply as he has to lean his head close to Zoey's chest to get a good peek into the bag she opens for him while commenting, "It's a really good one, should scare the shit out of him."

Ellis opens his mouth to voice his approval but then a sarcastic voice snakes its way over to the two, "well hello there cupcake." Zoey closes the bag quickly and looks up to glare at the approaching gambler, frowning at the name. The mechanic however looks up at his lover disapprovingly, only to find Nick's curious green eyes examining the bag that was just captivating Ellis's attention. Pointing a lazy finger Nick inquires, "So, what's in the bag?"

Zoey is quick to respond but not to his question and with some aggression, "what's with the collar?" Nick's eyebrows furrow, obviously not expecting this from the usually lighthearted girl but replaces his surprise with a smirk designed to irritate the young woman, "the collar is for fun…" his green eyes fall on the bag once more and he asks again, "what's in it?" Zoey finally glances to Ellis before sighing and shrugging, "It's not important really. You'll see it soon enough... or not if you keep this up." Nick's eyes narrow on hers before they travel to the uncomfortable southerner beside the girl. Ellis tries to remain calm and cool under the familiar gaze but to no avail. The mechanic bites his bottom lip, forcing his mouth closed.

The stubborn southerner and silent girl are starting to ruin Nick's good mood. The gambler however knows he when to quit and lets out a frustrated sigh, "alright, don't tell me. But don't expect me to buy you that chocolate." His unsatisfied eyes rest on the bag of truffles in Ellis's hands before turning away from the two as the southerner's jaw drops in an unhappy whine, "but Nick! Yew said I could git somethin'! Come on!" The gambler just shakes his head and walks to the friendly clerk, placing whatever he picked up on the counter for purchase.

Zoey grunts her disapproval and snatches the bag of truffles from the pouting man beside her, "he's a real ass. I don't know what you see in him El." Perhaps it was jealousy that the girl felt toward the rude conman or a true dislike for the man but either way she doesn't give Ellis a chance to defend Nick as she walks away, picking up a random box of assorted chocolate on her way over to the young man behind the counter who is just finishing up with the gambler.

Things were awkward as the three exited the shop. They were quiet and tense until Zoey turns to them and smiles slightly, "well I have to go back to the campus… I've got an exam in the morning." The southerner's eyes brighten in surprise, hoping to spend a little more time with their fellow survivor, "a-are you sure? Maybe you can eat lunch with us." The girls smile grows but she shakes her head disappointedly, "I can't I'm sorry." Zoey hesitates for a moment and looks down a moment and shuffles her feet before she steps up to Ellis and quickly kisses the southerner on the cheek before stepping back again.

Nick, who was previously listening with very little interest, straitens where he stands and instinctually wraps his hand around Ellis's waist before swiftly pulling the man against his chest, emitting a snarl. The southerner barely notices Nick's protective reaction, distracted by the kiss he just received. Zoey smiles at the red face of the southerner, completely unfazed by Nick's growl if she even noticed it in the first place as she bids the shocked couple farewell, "alright, goodbye guy's, I'll see you later…" Her green eyes leave Ellis's and meet Nick's equally green but absolutely infuriated orbs. Her gaze is meaningful and even as she stares deep into Nick's anger as if trying to tell him something. She adds to the gambler's fury with a smirk directed at him before turning around and walking away with a skip in her step.


	7. Chapter 7: A New Plan

**OMG! This chapter's actually kinda long! I kinda hope they keep this length, short fics are just a disappointment aren't they? :/**

**Enjoy~**

**OH! And a big thanks to LadyMidna for the review! I really appreciate it! ^^**

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Rage burns deep within the conman. How dare she keep suspicious secrets from him and then kiss _his _southerner? The hold he has on Ellis's hips tightens to the point where the southerner starts to squirm to escape the pain. But the gambler doesn't notice this until the mechanic shifts his blue eyes from Zoey's retreating figure to the deadly green orbs of his lover and whines, "N-Nick… you're holdin' me too tight man." The southern drawl barley makes its way through the infuriated man's consciousness but Nick releases him quickly as if Ellis just electrocuted him.

The conman backs up a step or two away from the southern mechanic and tears his eyes away from the direction Zoey had disappeared to look at Ellis with that same, deadly glare. The southerner flinches under the stare but then holds a glare of his own as he grumbles, "What's that look fer, Nick? It's not like I expected her ta do that!" The gambler looks away, trying to calm down but to no avail.

The two remain in a heated silence. People pass with various bags in their hands and destinations in their heads. The couple stare each other down as the world moves on around them, leaving them behind as time moves on. But Ellis is the first to realize just how pointless being angry over something as insignificant as a kiss on a cheek really is. His glare lightens and he adopts a small smile, wanting Nick to get over the anger he's feeling. However, the southerner is still unaware of Nick's premature mid-life crisis.

In the gamblers' eyes the kiss was a symbol. A warning from Zoey that Ellis can easily be swayed. Old feelings can be brought back up to the surface and the southerner can be lost to him. Nick feels torn between: ruthlessly mauling any competition that may arise to take the mechanic away from him; and breaking down, begging the love of his life to stay with him forever. But the conman keeps his cold exterior until he can withstand the southerner's warm smile no longer.

Nick releases a held breath that had threatened to release itself in the form of insults and threats against the college girl who has upset him so much. His glare dissipates and his shoulder's sink.

Ellis takes this as a sign that his lover has calmed down and doesn't hesitate to help the man recover. The southerner slides closer to the man and intertwines his fingers with Nick's ringed digits.

Although the gambler looks less explosive on the outside, his mind is still in disarray, thoughts of yet another solution littering his brain. Obviously the collar wasn't strong enough, as obvious as the slight lipstick mark on the southerner's cheek. So there must be something a little more effective that he can do.

Ellis's attempts to calm him down after seeing the familiar look Nick gets when he is deep in thought with light, flirtatious moves; a squeeze of the gambler's hand, light butterfly kisses on the man's neck and jaw, a full blown kiss on the corner of the conman's lips. Shameless displays of affection in public, not caring if he's criticized for being open about his fondness for the attractive male. Secretively, Ellis enjoys openly loving on Nick in public; he enjoys the look of shock and jealousy on the predatory females who would be eyeing the desirable gambler. A good make-out session always seems to throw them off, especially when Nick contributes with vigorous energy as he sometimes does.

But this time the conman simply ignores him, frustrating the southerner greatly. Instead the man has devised yet another plan. But this time he is making sure to get his point across to both Ellis and anyone who dares steal his lover away. It will not back fire on him as the collar has.

Finally Ellis gets irritated enough to act a little more firmly. He knows of a way to get the overly intelligent conman out of his brain. With a frown and a slight glare Ellis takes a step away from the man who he was just pressed up against and brings his hands (after setting his bag of truffles on the ground) up to the bottom of his shirt. He slowly starts to pull the fabric up to expose the muscles on his abdomen then, as the shirt raises, the hard flesh of his chest.

Nick, whose vision was blurred and distracted by thought, suddenly focuses from the movement in front of him. He is met by the beautiful bare torso of the southerner, currently pulling the dedicated, worn yellow t-shirt off his arms. Surprisingly Ellis's hat still sits proudly on top of his head, despite the article of clothing passing over his head; something he picked up after working in the shop for as long as he has.

A few people in the crowd around them stir and whisper, a few whistle while others shout for him to put the article of clothing back on. One member of the crowd jokingly yells, "is that even legal?"

The conman blinks at the southerner who looks completely comfortable with the fact that he's standing half-naked in the middle of a mall. Ellis smiles triumphantly at the sudden attention he has gained from his lover. Nick green eyes hungrily rake across the bare skin and tantalizing muscles born from the zombie apocalypse and job as a mechanic. What the gambler wouldn't give to ravage that chest right now.

But somehow he refrains, instead he lifts his questioning green gaze to the proud mechanic, "w-why?" the gambler shakes his head slightly to regain his thoughts and tries again, "what are you doing Ellis? Are you trying to draw attention to us?" They both know he couldn't care less about what others thought of them. In their opinion, the zombie apocalypse was nice in the fact that people were less judging on them, even if that meant those people were nothing more than a bunch or mindless, drooling corpses whose only purpose was to kill them. But now these people are just the same as the zombies; mindless and drooling but now equipped with the power of criticism and harmful reactions other then biting and scratching.

Ellis grins at his lover, ignoring the people around him, "It's hot out here! Since when are yew the one ta not enjoy a good glimpse of this?" The southerner flexes his arms, causing a few girls in the crowd to stop and stare. Nick is just as bad as them however, gazing at the flesh as if it was God himself, revealing himself for the first time to the atheist standing before the southern mechanic.

Ellis just chuckles at Nick's wide, distracted green eyes. Although this time the distraction was caused by him, not some pointless drama. The young man stops his taunting and bends down, grabbing his bag of candy. Ellis holds both his shirt and chocolate in one hand while he reaches up and hooks his free arm around one of Nick's. The gambler shudders a little at the bare skin around his exposed skin, feeling the fine toned muscles of the southerner's arm against him.

The conman looks down to his lover, still a tad confused as of why the man took off his shirt but doesn't plan on complaining. Nick starts to walk forward through the people who have already forgotten about the couple. Ellis allows his body to be pulled along by the gambler since he seems to know where he's going. Meanwhile the mechanic is focused on stuffing his t-shirt into his overalls, situating it so the shirt hangs at his side. When he's sure the precious shirt is secure and safe from anyone who might try to take it, Ellis looks up to find that the gambler has been leading them toward the exit of the nice outdoor mall.

Briefly he wonders why Nick would go through all the trouble to come to the mall just for a box of candy but shrugs it off, happy to have spent the time with his conman. Nick however is back to his thoughts and frustrations about Zoey. Right now the gambler's mind is set on one place, the destination where he plans on finding his solution to his problems with Ellis. Of course it's mainly coincidence that the southerner is along for the ride. Not that Nick cares; he was going to solve this problem without his lover's consent.

Nick squints as the sun reminds the couple of its existence as the two come out from underneath the semi-sheltered mall. Without the tinted glass's protection, the light from the sun suddenly seems to make everything around them overexposed and blinding for a few seconds. The gambler's eyes adjust to the surroundings and seems to just now notice that Ellis had ducked his head under his arm for protection from the overwhelming light. Nick can't help but smile warmly at the small gesture and uses this as an excuse to slip his protective arm around the southerner's shoulders.

Ellis doesn't hesitate in pressing himself against his gambler. The two seem to clash against the surrounding grays and whites of the city. Nick's brilliant blue dress shirt against Ellis's white, slightly tanned skin makes them standout amongst the crowds. The southern mechanic wraps his arm around the conman's shoulders and heaves a sigh before mumbling, "So, where are we goin' anyway?"

Nick pauses before answering, looking down at the southerner as his smooth voice responds, "we're going back to the car." The lack of information would normally annoy the mechanic but not this time it seems. Instead the smaller man looks up to meet the green eyes that are on him. Nick's eyes try to stay on the southerner's face but can't help but travel down to the well built chest, glowing in the sun. He groans loudly enough for Ellis to hear and grumbles, "El, why must you torture me like this?"

The mechanic grins widely and tightens the muscles on his chest, enjoying how the action causes one of Nick's brows to twitch. The gambler frowns but brings his free hand forward; reaching toward the southern mechanic's abdomen but before he can touch that desirable skin, Ellis releases the conman's shoulder and picks up his pace to walk in front of the frustrated man.

Nick frowns and grumbles his displeasure, diverting his gaze away in a pout. But the glint of the warm skin in front of him grabs his attention. As hard as he tries not to look forward, tries to keep his focus on his thoughts, as much as he wills himself to look the other way, the gambler can not keep his eyes off the skin of his lover.

Sweat glistens as it rolls down from the southerner's soaked brown hair, the mesh on his hat unable to offer his head enough assistance to keep the man cool. Nick's captivated green eyes watch as the drop of perspiration travels across the nape of the mechanic's neck to curve and run down the developed muscles in the man's back. The drop of sweat seems to give Nick a detailed tour of the southern mechanic's back, running over every dip and rise of defined muscles and hard bones. Smooth skin and mouthwatering curves send Nick's mind into a frenzy, really wishing they weren't in a public place right now.

Oh how he wishes he could just touch the torturous body in front of him. Make the relaxed spine arch backwards with a simple slip of a finger, or maybe trail a finger down the same path that drop of sweat has taken all the way down to the brim of Ellis's overalls. Or maybe… he would replace his finger with his tongue… Nick shakes his head and tries to keep his thoughts in the moment, although he has given up on thinking about anything besides the skin in front of him.

Ellis on the other hand is beside himself. Nick may not have noticed but, in his thoughts, he has been encroaching on the young southerner, making him feel fairly good about himself. He knows that it takes a good looking body to be pursued by Nick and to be literally chased by the gambler like this is an unintentional complement from the usually uninterested man.

And when strong arms wrap around his abdomen, it takes all of Ellis's selfcontrol to stop himself from letting out an excited yelp. The feeling of Nick's firm fingers gripping his sides sends a rush of arousal through him as he interprets their intentions completely different from what their real objectives. The southerner's hopes rise as his eyes lower to the hands at his gut before he looks back to the conman with a blush and a smile. But the second he stops moving, the arms disappear to be replaced by Nick's calm tone, "you almost missed the car El…"

Ellis's smiledrops and his anticipation deflates. His blue eyes flicker with annoyance but his gambler pays little attention as he hurriedly moves around to the other side of the BMW. The southerner glances at the advancing sun, judging that it is at least around 3:30. There is still time to dive the conman mad.

With a clearly annoyed face, the mechanic opens the car door and sits beside the gambler who is obviously rushing to go somewhere. But Ellis's slight irritation disappears when he feels emerald eyes on him, on his chest and neck to be exact. He doesn't have to turn and look to know that Nick's predatory eyes are scanning his body with insatiable hunger. He knows that the conman's mind is mapping exactly how he plans on going about addressing the matter of the shirtless southerner in front of him. The tension builds and Ellis's body can't help but stiffen in anticipation, just waiting for firm hands against his skin and a hot mouth ravishing his skin with kisses.

But none of his comes. See, while Nick was running his greedy eyes across what gorgeous view he had of the southerner's body, his always observant green orbs are caught on something; something upon his lover's cheek. The lipstick stain. Immediately Nick's body is turned off and his mind snaps out of the trance Ellis's shirtless state had him in. The unpleased look returns to the gambler and he turns his attention back to the car, turning the key in the ignition and smoothly pulling out of the spot along the curb.

Ellis releases a prolonged breath which he was holding from the eagerness he had gathered earlier. The southerner almost does a double-take, completely taken aback by his lover's actions to ignore him. He turns to face Nick, opening his mouth to openly confront the conman but then he sees the look on his face. Green eyes glare at the road in front of them, a blaze of pure fury in their murky depths so blistering hot that Ellis could easily imagine them burning through the glass and into the car in front of them. Nick's mouth is twisted into a contemplative scowl as unpleasant and infuriating thoughts reek havoc in his brain.

The southerner's eyes travel to Nick's hands, tightly curled around the steering wheel; so tight that his knuckles have turned white from the pressure of constricting the hard material. Ellis could tell that his distraction is obviously not enough anymore. He also could tell that it is probably best he stays quiet. So, he is forced to watch with some nervousness as Nick recklessly speeds, tailgates, and cuts people off close enough to make the mechanic cringe and the person honk at the irritated conman.

Ellis's hands grip the door handle and he holds his breath as Nick narrowly misses hitting someone. But then Nick makes it worse; he can't keep his thoughts to himself any longer. His voice is a low grumble just above a whisper, "So… you're planning something next week… with Zoey?" The southern mechanic stiffens and his breath hitches, he turns toward his lover, blue eyes wide. But Nick's focus is still on the road as he turns onto the on-ramp to the freeway, pressing his foot hard against the gas peddle so the car lurches forward and speeds onto the open road.

The southerner grips the handle on the door even harder. Normally he would attempt to answer that question but at the moment he is silenced by the speed at which Nick is driving. But then the gambler snarls, turning his head away from the road to look at Ellis, "don't keep secrets from me! I know you two are planning something! Tell me what it is… _now!_" The southerner sucks in a nervous breath, knowing he should defiantly answer now. The only problem is that he can't.

The mechanic turns his shaken blue-green orbs to the conman and whimpers desperately, "I-I can't! If I told ya… you'd ruin it!" This doesn't seem to help at all. In fact it just makes the conman even angrier. The mechanic feels beads of sweat run down his forehead and he tries to fix his mistake before Nick gets them in an accident, "We're plannin' somethin' real fun! I can't tell ya anymore… Zoe would be mad if she knew I was talkin' 'bout it now… w-will yew please look where you're drivin'?" That seems to work; Nick turns his attention back to the road, keeping his unsafe pace but at least he isn't speeding up even more.

In truth however, Nick is about to blow up. He is battling his pent up rage. His foot urges to press the gas peddle down and ram into the shitty Toyota Prius in front of him. Fortunately for Ellis, the gambler can't stand the thought of his lover crumpled within the metal frame of the crushed car, life blood leaking onto the hot pavement of the freeway. Nick has to refrain from flinching just at that image. Still the other images of Ellis and Zoey doing"really fun" activities are no better. Nick can feel his anger returning but instead he takes a deep breath and tries to focus.

"N-Nick…?" The gambler sighs. At least he tried.

Green eyes flicker over to blue in acknowledgement before looking back to the road. Ellis takes this as a sign he can continue, "Where we goin' exactly…?" The conman's deep scowl seems to lighten at the sound of the southerner's curiosity. Panic arises in the conman, realizing that, in his rage, he had failed to pay attention to where he was driving. However it seems he's lucky this time. Glancing up at the nearest exit sign, Nick grumbles, "It's just off the off-ramp."

The destination in mind was a little farther from the off-ramp then Ellis imagined but not too far. Before long Nick was pulling into a small shopping center parking lot where people bustled about with Target bags and shopping carts. Ellis lifts a brow and turns a skeptical eye toward his lover and asks plainly, "We're goin' ta Target?"

Nick answers just as plainly, "No dumbass, we're not going to Target." Ellis frowns at the name but guesses he should be used to it at this point. His curious blue eyes search for any other possible places they could stop in this little area. There was a shoe store. The mechanic glances down at his heavy military-like boots. Sure they might be dirty as hell but they are nowhere near a replaceable condition. And he didn't have to look at Nick's shoes to know they were probably in the same condition they were when he had bought them. What kind of conman would he be if he owned scuffed shoes?

Ellis's eyes lazily scan the other buildings. A few small take-out restaurants, a bakery, a video rental store... The southerner perks a little at that. He glances to his partner with a glimmer of hope; maybe Nick wants to rent a movie as an excuse to be romantic tonight! If the gambler ever had an element besides a deck of cards or a pool table it would probably be somewhere in front of a movie. At least that's what Ellis thinks. The southerner always loves watching movies with his conman, especially romances. Usually Nick gets bored halfway through the movie and decides to entertain himself by sarcastically criticizing the characters or, if he's in the mood, he'll amuse himself by being awfully friendly with Ellis.

The mechanic's hopes rise as the car slows and starts to turn into a parking place in front of the movie store. Nick sighs as he turns off the car and slumps back against the seat. Maybe he should have Ellis drive them back home; it's a fact that the mechanic is the best driver of the two and Nick finds himself wondering why the southerner didn't take over during his moments of rage. The gambler flicks his eyes over to said southerner and finds the smaller man staring with a sparkle of excitement at the movie rental store he happened to park in front of.

Nick shakes his head with a small smile and slides his hand to touch Ellis's, which is resting near the parking break in the threshold between their seats, to get the mechanic's attention. Ellis turns his shimmering blue eyes to Nick and is met with an amused chuckle, "Ellis, we're not renting a movie…" The gambler's voice fades as he gets an idea. Before the southerner can even feel disappointed Nick speaks again, "actually, sure why don't we rent a movie. Anything in mind?" Ellis blinks before grinning widely and chirping happily, "why not _Titanic_?"

The conman is in the process of exiting the car but pauses when he hears the movie his southerner had in mind. An uninterested face ducks down to stare at the southern mechanic as if urging the smaller man to pick another movie, possibly something not as long and cheesy. But Ellis's grin stays; knowing full well that the movie will more than likely bore the conman even before it starts, raising the chances of some action tonight. He knows he shouldn't be thinking like this, being Catholic and all, but Ellis just can't help but crave Nick.

Anyway, the unintentionally seductive conman gives up on trying to change his seemingly oblivious southerner's mind and starts to close the door when Ellis's voice stops him once more, "Nick? Can you take off this collar now? It's startin' ta irritate my skin…" The gambler doesn't even look at him this time as he responds with a semi-uncaring sigh, "maybe later…" With that he shuts the door and walks toward the movie rental place, leaving Ellis to frown and watch his blue-clothed lover walk into the store.

While Nick is gone the southerner tries his hardest to figure the irritating strip of leather out. He pulls at it, fumbles with the lock; he even tries getting it at an angle where he might possibly reach it with his teeth. But the collar is designed for humans, possibly even designed for him. Obviously Nick put it on him for a reason. He could make a few guesses but so far all of those have been proved wrong throughout the day.

Ellis tries to pull at it one more time but stops as soon as Nick reappears, stepping quickly toward the southerner's door before opening it and tossing the movie onto Ellis's lap. He's about to shut the door again when a strong arm stops it from closing. A blue eye catches the bright sun light and glints up at Nick from underneath a blue and white hat. Captured by the pool of blue-green, the gambler can't help but listen intently to the southerner drawl that invades his ears, "will yew please take off this collar…? I really don't like it…"

Nick contemplates whether he should comply of not but then remembers his plan. With an apologetic shake of his head, the gambler disappoints his southerner once more. Nick hesitates however. The gambler brings a hand to the southerner's chin and tilts the young face up toward him and smiles, "I'll do my best to make it a little more bearable as soon as we get home where we can't disturb anyone, but first I've gotta get something else." Ellis blushes at the wink and suggestive smirk.

He fidgets in his seat as Nick leans down and kisses Ellis's temple before taking a playful nip at the southerner's reddening ear. But then the door shuts and the mechanic is forced, once again, to watch the larger man walk away again. Ellis is starting to think all this sexual teasing is some sort of game to the gambler. How far can he push the southern mechanic before the smaller yet stronger man finally snaps? Ellis grumbles, inwardly daring the gambler to push him one more time.

His eyes follow the conman as he strides to a store a few buildings away from the video rental place. But then his hand reaches up to the collar. The leather has been rubbing against his neck whenever he moves. He's had enough of this torture. Ellis determined to rid himself of the nuisance around his neck, steps out of the car and starts to follow the gambler. He doesn't remember his lack of shirt until the sun hits his bare skin. But at this point he doesn't feel self conscious of his exposed muscles. Although a few people that pass him on the way to the building seem to appreciate the view, especially since those people were female. Unfortunately the southerner doesn't notice this and thus cannot relish in this fact and can't rub it in his gambler's face.

The mechanic opens the door to the store Nick went into without really looking at what he's walking into. He glances around the store and spots the counter, impatiently walking toward it. Ellis smiles quickly at the girl leaning her forearms against the surface who glances through her shock of black hair which falls over her eyes when he approaches. The southerner shyly shuffles his feet before asking awkwardly, "s-sorry but do you have a pair of scissors that I could borrow?" The dark haired girl lifts her head to examine the shirtless hick in front of her. The mechanic feels uneasy as grey eyes quickly scan his figure before their owner stands strait with a small smile and a rock of her head, "yeah. I've got some scissors." She pulls out the requested metal and tilts her head as she hands the southerner the tool.

But just as he's about to take them she smirks and pulls her hand back out of his reach. Ellis'shand automatically follows the metal, his body lurches forward with a whine, "hey!" The woman tucks the pair of scissors behind her back and giggles slightly, "I'm sorry, but I'm supposed to ask if you mean this kind of scissors" she holds up the desired tool as emphasis but then nods her head, motioning for Ellis to look behind him, "or the pink fuzzy scissors. There is a difference." The southerner falls for the gesture and turns around with some annoyance to see just what she's talking about.

Indeed there is a pair of pink fuzzy scissors hanging from a rack, next to a pair of equally pink and equally fuzzy handcuffs. Next to those is a fairly serious looking whip with a tag hanging off of it with large letters reading; "effective stimulation for all your rough-night needs". Ellis's eyes grow wide and he sucks in a breath when he realizes just what kind of store he's in. The mechanic is just about to make a run for it to find the real store his lover disappeared in (because there is no way in hell a classy guy like Nick would step into a store like this) when an all too familiar voice rings from his right, "oh God… Ellis you were never supposed to be exposed to this kind of stuff."

Blue eyes shift to the soothing voice in horror to find their lover standing rigid with a box in his arms. Nick sees the movement of Ellis'sattempt at escape before the mechanic can even get a foot forward. Throwing the box to the girl behind the counter, Nick lunges forward to wrap his arms around the southerner in a loving embrace, stopping all motion in the smaller man's body and stopping the potentially costly damage to the store in the attempt to run away. The grey-eyed female catches the box as if this kind of thing happens every day before glancing over the selected item with interested raised eyebrows and mumbling her approval, "wow Nick, this is pretty heavy-duty."

Ellis struggles slightly in his gambler's arms but gives up and simply tilts his head to try his best in making eye contact with the man. The southerner utters a grunt as the conman turns him around so that his back is pressed against a wonderfully hard chest and he is facing the eccentric woman behind the counter who glances up at the couple with an audible "aw". She smiles kindly at an uneasy Ellis before looking past him to Nick, "So this is the infamous southerner you keep bragging about?" Her grey eyes settle on the mechanic again, who is, at the moment, really wishing he had the protection of his shirt. But her gaze is warm and maybe a little bit jealous, her tone however stays calm as she continues, "you're right, you are really lucky to have him. He's quite the catch." Ellis could swear he felt the firm chest behind him expand as pride fills his gambler's body.

Normally Ellis would feel pretty shy about being put on the spot and so openly complimented but right now his surroundings are getting to him. He can't help but notice all the sex implements and toys around him. Unconsciously, he presses into comfort of the protective chest behind him, seeking out some sort of shelter from the disturbing equipment around him. Nick notices this and secures his arms around the man in front of him while nudging the southerner's head with his in an attempt to offer some consolation as he mumbles softly, "I'm sorry you had to stumble upon this, El… as manly as you are, you're still too innocent to be exposed to all of this." The gambler presses loving lips against the side of the mechanic's cheek as the woman behind the counter scans the mysterious box that was tossed to her.

The conman however takes this time to comment on the girl's earlier statement, "Do you think it's too heavy duty? I mean, I don't want anything too complicated as long as it's effective." The dark haired girl looks up to Nick before flicking her eyes to Ellis then back to Nick, answering with a smile, "it shouldn't be too bad. He just won't be able to take it off is all. Only you can since it's 'breathe activated' meaning he shouldn't be physically able to reach it and apply the right amount of heat nor the amount of carbon dioxide needed to release it." All of this goes right over the mechanic's head. The young female chuckles as she hands Nick the plastic bag with the box in it, shaking her head and commenting, "I swear those scientists should have something better to do then come up with new materials for sex devices."

Nick releases Ellis and reaches past the southerner to accept the bag. Almost immediately Ellis turns and starts to push his gambler away from the counter and out of the store. The conman grunts at this but stumbles back, knowing he'd just fall if he resisted his disturbed lover. So instead Nick just connects eyes with the girl and grins, "Thanks Tammy!"

The dark haired female smiles back and waves to her regular as he's pushed toward the exit, "I'll just put this on your tab, Nicky. Good luck and have fun." Tammy chuckles when Ellis switches from pushing to dragging when he realizes his shoving isn't getting them out as quickly as he wanted. Ignoring Nick's debate about his pulling on the gambler's nice blue shirt, Ellis tugs the conman through the door out to freedom and happiness; or so he hoped. He releases the his complaining partner and storms toward the car, really wanting to get as far away from the adulterous store his lover is apparently a regular to.

Nick tries to catch up with the southerner for fear of the smaller man being mad at him but gives up when the shirtless figure strides quickly to the car, opens the door to the BMW and slams it. Ellis looks to his slower lover impatiently. His strange lover… whom he had never imagined to see in a store such as the one he was just in. How could his quest for scissors go so horribly wrong? Ellis sits in shock now, recalling how that Tammy person had called his Nick by a nick-name he so cleverly devised for the gambler. Only he is allowed to call the conman by that name!

A car door shutting breaks him from his inward rant and he looks up to his lover. The gambler has a bothered look on his face as he leans forward to turn the car on but pauses. Hesitantly, green eyes gaze up to make an inconspicuous side-glace attempt at their lover. But Nick flinches when he sees that his southern lover is watching him with questioning eyes. He's quick however, to apologize for the mishap, fully turning to his partner with desperation lacing his worried tone, "I'm sorry El! Please forgive me! I wasn't expecting you to follow me or else I would have…" the gambler hesitates for the right words he wants to say but the southerner takes the pause as an implication and his eyes grow plain as he blankly states, "or else ya would've tied me up? With bondage?"

The mechanic watches as Nick's green eyes widen in panic. Hastily, the conman shakes his head and tries to recover what respect his lover once held for him before it's lost entirely, "n-no! It's not like that! You've got it all…" Ellis leans back into the nice seats of the BMW as he watches his gambler struggles to gather himself again with faint amusement. Nick calms down before quietly continuing, "I knew her before the apocalypse." Green eyes lift to stare into skeptical blue pools before the soothing voice continues, "obviously she's… I guess you could call her an ex-girlfriend. We weren't too close but close enough to know each other better then some of the other girls I've been with."

Ellis shifts in his seat. That would explain the glimmer of jealousy in the females grey eyes… but it doesn't clarify why the hell Nick was in a store like that. Nick straitens before sighing and continuing with his much needed explanation, "Shortly after you and I settled down here, we bumped into each other again. We chatted, I told her about you and... Well eventually she told me she worked here and told me to check it out." The gambler clears his throat with a slight blush, "It's not someplace I come to often if that's what you're thinking…" Nick brings a hand up to the back of his neck, showing his discomfort.

But his explanation is enough for Ellis. The southerner smiles and nods, the movement catching the conman's attention, "a'right I believe yew!" The mechanic grins at his lovers' relief but that then turns into a smirk, "now let's get home so yew can keep yur promise an' make me more comfortable... much more comfy." Nick blinks and smiles but only offers a tilt of his head as a response before he turns the car on and starts back on his way home with significantly less road rage.

It takes them both a while to settle down even after they arrive home. Nick refuses to tell Ellis what exactly he had bought at the 'adult store' as he refers to it as. The only response he received was a tight lipped, "you'll see later." The southerner forces himself to not ask excessively, knowing full well that Nick would most likely snap his head off. But then the conman starts to head toward the stairs with that mystery box right as Ellis is about to put popcorn into the microwave for the movie and explains, "I'll only take a moment, promise not to start the movie before I get back."

Ellis knows full well that Nick couldn't care less if he missed parts of _Titanic_ but then the gambler starts to walk away, not waiting for the southerner's objection. The mechanic frowns and crosses his arms, the low hum of the microwave drowning out his lover's footsteps. His blue gaze wanders after a few moments to a calendar hanging on a wall near their pantry door. A single square on the sheet is circled. It is a few days away from the current date. Ellis finds himself smiling warmly at the marked number.

The date marked is July 13th. That is the day everything went wrong. The day zombies ravaged the southerner's small home town of Savannah Georgia. The day he was forced to team up with three complete strangers in his quest for survival. The day he and Nick met. That memorable day is the date of their anniversary. The mechanic remembers the conman's acidic sarcasm and hesitance to tell the group his name withsome amount of fondness. The southern mechanic has something special planned that day: a party with all their friends. He and Zoey havebeen talking about it for quite a long time; with a bit of help from Keith.

He smiles to himself, not being able to contain his excitement. It is only three days away after all. The southerner guesses that Nick has something planned as well for that day; since the circle marked in red was marked by the gambler possibly to serve as an extra reminder. Ellis assumes that whatever Nick bought today at the store is going to be reserved for that night. A shiver runs down the southerner's spine in involuntary anticipation.

The microwave dings at him to gain his attention, making him jump. Ellis quickly dumps the freshly popped popcorn into a bowl, grabbing a handful of the buttered puffballs and making his way over to the couch. The southerner places the bowl on the side table beside the couch. Just as he sits down Nick walks in with both hands in his suit pockets; having put the jacket back on when the couple got home. But Ellis, determined to drive the conman mad, decided to keep his shirt off although instead of being stuffed in his overalls, the precious article of clothing is hanging off a dinning room chair.

The gambler glances at his lover relaxing on the couch before maneuvering to the fridge to get himself something to drink as he nonchalantly asks, "so are you gonna start the movie or what?" Ellis smiles, stretching his legs out and propping them up on the once nice but now worn coffee table that sits a few feet away from the couch. A laid back southern drawl answers the conman as he selects his beverage, "I'm jus' waitin' fer yew, love." Nick smiles and picks up a simple bottle of water.

As he closes the refrigerator door, Nick's green orbs are caught by a red circle marked on the couple's calendar. A grimace falls upon his features and he releases a silent sigh. July 13this the day he's scheduled to leave for a few weeks to con people for their money. He marked the date to make sure he doesn't forget. But right now he really wishes he hadn't marked it. There is a pit in his stomach, a dread that has been building over the past couple of weeks. With all the problems he's facing with Ellis, to leave in three days seems hardly appropriate. The thought of his southerner lover alone with no one to love him except for the people Nick considers rivals.

The gambler shakes his head and he turns to walk over to his favorite mechanic. He has a plan; he shouldn't worry so much about it. With his new weapon, Ellis is surely going to stay his.

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**READ!**

**Ok… you know how in my description I've been warning about a possible lemon? Weeell… that's coming up next chapter! ^^" So! If you don't like that sorta thing um… you can skip it. It's shouldn't be toooo bad, in fact there's no intercourse. Heh I wonder how many people blushed at that… **

**ANYWAY! You can skip it if you want, I can't guarantee that you won't be confused (you shouldn't be… hopefully). **

**You should know that there will be sorta kinda some bondage, nothing overly messed up like ropes and whips… BECAUSE NICK IS TOOOO FANCY! Lul. You'd have to read my Assassin's Creed fic for all that :D (shameful advertising? Really?)**

**I'm rambling! Ok so if you don't like, don't read! And don't complain cuz I warned you!**

**-WhiteWolf535**


	8. Chapter 8: Titanic

**OK! **

**this is the LEMON... LIME whatever ya wanna call it chapter! **

**it's pretty much the whole thing too! cept for the start but... yeah, I'm sorry for all of those who don't like sex... you can skip this one if you really can't handle it. Basically Nick is being a jerk and torturing Ellis with sexual stimulation... so yeah! :D **

**SOOOO, no complaining that you don't like it and that this is M rated... mostly only this part is. Alright? So no flaming! **

***random notes***

**I actually had to watch Titanic for this part. Haha it was a good movie! I remember hating it when I was younger since it's so long and boring... well to a kid at least. But that was a long time ago. If any of you have yet to see it, I recommend it! Unless of course you have a fear of ships sinking... then don't see it... hahahaha...**

* * *

The conman flips the lights off to reduce the glare on the screen. The only interference is the natural light coming from the window which he easily dissolves by pulling the curtains down.

The southern mechanic pushes a button on a remote to start the movie when he sees that his conman is on his way over to join him. Nick picks up the box for the DVD as he plops down a couple feet from Ellis. He takes a gulp of his water as his eyes find the length of the movie. The gambler's eyes furrow and he groans loudly, "this is _three_ hours long!" Ellis can't help but smirk. He remembers when Keith told him how one of his many unsuccessful dates went. They had seen _Titanic_ and Keith had gotten bored right at the start. So he tried to make a move on the girl and well… basically he had to sit through the entire movie with an aching jaw from a well delivered punch.

So he knows perfectly well that the movie is long. And he knows Nick will get bored just as Keith had done. Except instead of being punched, the gambler will be encouraged. The movie opens with sepia toned footage and slow but captivating music. Ellis hears the stifled groan as Nick already dreads the three hour long romance movie. The southerner smiles and glances to his lover as two deep-sea submarines make an appearance on the screen. The smaller man huddles close to his conman who barely moves, obviously expecting this to happen.

Ellis glances up at Nick's arms, which are stretched across the back of the couch, and frowns when the gambler makes no effort to pull him any closer. The conman is going to make this difficult. Nick's uninterested green eyes stare at the screen, watching as the movie starts out slow. Demanding for attention, Ellis cuddles against Nick's chest, making sure his shoulder is tucked into the gambler's armpit. The southerner suddenly shrugs that shoulder, forcing Nick's arm to drape onto his back.

Satisfied, Ellis ignores the obvious disapproving heave of Nick's chest and leans his head into the conman's neck; letting his hat tilt up and slide off his head. It doesn't take long for the gambler to give in to his lover's persistence for attention; after all ignoring the southerner would only make his situation worse. So Nick tightens his arm around his mechanic to pull the smaller man into him. The gambler disconnects his focus on the movie for a moment to press his lips against the southerner's messy brown locks.

The southerner squirms under his lips until he lifts his head. But then Ellis tilts his head up and uses his needy blue eyes to gain another kiss but this time on the cheek. The gambler smiles when the mechanic turns his head to the side so Nick's lips trail to his own, connecting their mouths in a loving gesture. The conman's whole body relaxes with a heavy sigh as the southerner's plump lips move against his in mesmerizing movements.

But all good things must end sometime and it is the gambler who ends the kiss when a loud bellow of a steam whistle tears his attention away. His eyes lift back to the screen in time to see a group of four men playing a game of poker. Upon seeing one of Nick's eyebrows twitch with interest, Ellis turns back to the screen with a pout since he was really enjoying the kiss.

The movie goes on and to Ellis's disappointment; it held the gambler's attention. Nick did make a few comments about the main actress, commenting on how her character _should_have jumped. Ellis elbowed the man in the ribs and chuckled at the conman's sarcastic remarks. But then Nick fell silent.

He started to connect with Jack, the main protagonist. Ellis, too saw features of his beloved gambler in the boy portrayed in the movie. But as interesting as the movie may be, it isn't fulfilling its purpose of getting Ellis a little action. The southerner tries to think of another way to get the attention he seeks but comes up with nothing.

It's not until half way into the movie when the two main character's relationship really starts to pick up that Ellis receives his opportunity. He feels Nick shift uncomfortably beneath him when the couple on the screen start to get… intimate. The southerner glances to his lover innocently. He recognizes the familiar seductive lust in his lover's green orbs as the stare at the T.V. But then those eyes flick down to him as the gambler swallows the awkward lump in his throat.

Ellis smirks and Nick is driven past his limit. He can't ignore his body's urges any longer. They have been screaming at him all day and finally he has this chance to appease them. Gently, Nick sits up a little and swings his far leg over the southerner's stretched out ones while rolling on his other knee to straddle the blushing mechanic. Ellis's view of the T.V. screen is completely obscured by Nick's white-suited figure. And his green eyes which shine in the low light of the sunset that makes its way through the curtains.

Excitement builds in the mechanic's chest. Finally, he's getting what he's wanted all day; Nicks loving attention. The man clad in white smirks at the eager southerner underneath him before he leans down to torment the happy mechanic. Ellis clenches his eyes closed as Nick makes a dive past his impatient mouth and to the side of his head. The gambler's abrasive stubble rubs against his cheek while a playful mouth tugs on the hair behind his ear.

Ellis sucks in a breath as Nick's fingers crawl up his bare chest. The conman's hands and mouth contradict each other. While his hands are slowly and sensually running across the southerner's skin, his mouth is quickly searching for any new sensitive spot he can trigger to make his mechanic moan. Ellis stifles that groan when the slick tongue finds the spot it was looking for but unfortunately for him Nick hears it and proceeds to fully run his tongue across the skin, forcing a moan to erupt from the southerner.

The conman pulls back with a satisfied smile. Ellis's blush grows with embarrassment from his sound but he quickly recovers, bringing a hand up to grab the collar of the gambler's suit. But Nick presses his hands against the southerner's chest, "wait, let me do something for you first." Ellis frowns and lifts an eyebrow, reluctantly lets the man go, watching him curiously. Nick smiles lightly and lifts his hands up to the mechanic's neck to touch the collar around his neck. Ellis's blush returns when the gentle fingers massage the skin around the collar. The conman purrs, "I told you I'd make it more bearable… relax." He leans forward; pressing the back of the other man's to encourage the southerner to tilt his head up and expose his neck more, and lays his lips around the collar.

Ellis murmurs his approval and sighs heavily when Nick slips his tongue under the strip of leather. All day the southerner has been bothered by the annoying collar so now that there is something smooth and wet soothing his irritated skin, he finds himself in an increased state of euphoria. Nick makes his way around the collar, sliding his slick tongue over as much of the agitated skin as he can reach, before leaning back and connecting his eyes with Ellis's half closed orbs, "stay still for one moment, alright?" The mechanic nods as if under a spell, not really knowing what he's nodding to.

Nick sticks his hand into his jacket pocket, producing a small key. He reaches around to the back of the southerner's collar and fiddles with the lock before eventually taking the collar off. Ellis blinks and almost immediately his hands fly up to his neck, uttering a small sigh of relief. He didn't think the collar was bothering him _that_ much, but apparently it was. Suddenly a great sense of gratitude rushes into him and he makes a grab for the gambler's fancy white jacket again, grabbing the collar once again with a smirk.

Before Nick can complain about creases the southerner yanks the man down to mash their lips together. Suddenly the gambler doesn't feel like protesting anymore. His eyes roll back into his head and he releases a heavy sigh, pressing into the warm, welcoming lips. The conman quickly shoves the collar, lock, and key back into his pocket before his lover either notices them again and takes them away or he loses track of them in their acts of passion. Meanwhile, Ellis is quick to develop the kiss, opening the man's mouth to nibble and suck on Nick's bottom lip. He smiles when the larger man shudders under his tease.

Nick pulls away from him breathing hard and obviously struggling. Ellis looks into the gambler's eyes, beckoning him back with a simple tilt of his lips. But then the conman moves his hands to his partially buttoned coat and with well practiced patients, the professional unbuttons his clothing in an agonizingly slow pace. He watches with satisfaction as Ellis squirms and twitches with the anticipation of seeing him half naked. But Nick makes it hard on the southerner, payback for the torture the smaller man put him through today. So he makes it as painful as possible for Ellis to watch. His hands pass over his blue dress shirt when he finally opens up his suit jacket all the way.

He can see that the southerner is just barely holding himself back from completely ravaging his body. Of course this doesn't make him go any faster; in fact it makes him go even slower. Ellis is forced to watch as graceful fingers run over the contours of the body he desires so much. Even with the remaining shirt on, Ellis knows what's waiting for him. Delicious muscles that far exceed his own in appearance, skin that pulses warmth which has the tendency to spread through his body and makes him sweat, a back so smooth that his hands slide over it easily and a spine sensitive to the touch. Nick's hands slowly unbutton his shirt from top to bottom, making it so painful for the southerner to watch that the man has to bite his lower lip to stop a frustrated grunt and give the gambler even more reason to slow down.

Finally, the blue shirt hangs open, allowing only a sliver of skin to be shown. There is a pause between the two. The only sounds they hear is the low mumble of the screen and the heavy breathing passing between Ellis's parted lips. Nick shifts on his knees a little to get closer and make himself comfortable all the while watching as the southerner's eyes react to how much skin their allowed to see. The gambler gently moves his hands up the mechanic's body again; starting at the man's sides, sliding his warm fingers up and onto the firm shoulders, gliding over a silky smooth neck, pausing for a moment to feel the mesmerizing skin with his thumbs before continuing to the mechanic's face, finally resting his hands on the man's cheeks where he cups them in his palms. The sound of fabric against fabric as the conman moves hypnotizes Ellis, almost making him fall asleep with the along with the careful touching, but the sight of the skin he desires keeps his eyes open. Somehow he is able to break the spell, his mind telling him to look into his lover's eyes, make that caring connection and ignore his lust to tear off the man's shirts and take advantage of this moment; so he lifts his blue orbs to stare warmly into Nick's. He leans into the supportive hands as they rub his cheeks affectionately.

Nick smiles softly to the southerner before leaning down, closing his eyes while tilting his head, to lay his lips against Ellis's. The mechanic keeps his eyes open for a few seconds before the warmth of the moment completely quells his lust and causes his eyelids to fall as well, pressing back into the kiss. The conman murmurs lowly when a pair of strong hands come up to rest on the back of his head. The gambler slowly starts to lean his body more forward until his chest is pressed against Ellis's. Taking this as an invitation, the mechanic eagerly but carefully runs his hands down the larger man's neck, sliding past the strong shoulders and toward the open shirts.

As the southern mechanic starts to take off his jacket, Nick quickly deepens the kiss with his hands before they are pulled away by Ellis who is determined to remove the busy gambler's clothes. The mechanic's eyes clench tight as he moans from the pleasure brought by the skillful tongue massaging his moist mouth. He finds it difficult to continue stripping his gambler but somehow manages to take off the man's white jacket, letting it drop to the floor. Becoming impatient, Ellis opens up the blue dress shirt to expose Nick's bare chest before gripping the conman's sides and pulling the man forward, gaining the warmth he's been wanting so badly. The gambler smiles against Ellis's mouth, withdrawing his tongue from the warm cavern to lean back with the protest of the southerner who tugs on his sides not allowing Nick to go far as the man quickly shrugs off his shirt. Ellis smirks his approval of the show he's given but looks up into the attractive conman's eyes before he drags his blue orbs down the muscled body of his lover. Nick grins like a Cheshire cat when he sees the blue pools widen as soon as they make contact with his skin.

He doesn't deserve this. The only thing Ellis can think of is how much he truly doesn't deserve Nick. The man's body is beautiful; so beautiful that he could easily imagine even the most skillful of womanizers wanting the body Nick possesses. Ellis could always picture seeing Nick in one of those old paintings. The ones that seem to impact the viewers the most; the ones where the subjects body is perfect, he knows how Nick's green eyes would pull people in but at the same time push them away as if it was for their own good which would only serve to pull them right back again. Everyone would want that painting, want to be the one the mysteriously attractive man holds at night and curse whoever has the privilege of seeing that body every day, whoever gets to stare into those eyes who stir emotions within someone just by simply glancing at them. Ellis smiles in satisfaction. And that man is _all_ his.

The southerner pulls the gambler back into him, connecting both of their lips lustfully. His arms wrap around the larger man, running his hands up and down the conman's back, lightly scrapping his nails along the smooth skin. Nick takes control of the kiss rather forcefully, shoving the slick muscle into the southerner's mouth again, groaning with some amount of viciousness. But the mechanic doesn't give in without a fight this time. The two clash aggressively, rubbing their tongues together, trying desperately to gain access to the other's mouth. Ellis opens his eyes, becoming frustrated, quickly solves his problem; he runs his hands down the man's sides to his hips before quickly sliding a hand between the gambler's legs and pressing hard. Nick's eyes open wide and his head reflexively reels back and tilts up as he gasps from the euphoria. But Ellis's hands shoot back up to grab the conman's hair and forcefully pulls the man's open mouth toward his awaiting tongue. Nick shudders but doesn't attempt to fight back, too shocked by the contact.

His arms fall limp from the southerner and his eyes close as his head is taken control of by the mechanic. Ellis moves the conman's mouth in the ways he wishes, giving himself the perfect angles to explore the seductive cavern. He briefly thinks on how this never happens, Nick is always the dominate of the two. The gambler almost always has his way with the southerner, so when chances like these come up, Ellis joyfully takes full advantage of it. The mechanic now tilts the suddenly submissive conman's head up, gaining access to the roof of the larger man's mouth, holding the cooperative head with care. The southern mechanic finishes with a long suck, getting a desperate moan out of the gambler.

The two part from each other but Ellis finds that Nick hasn't had enough. The conman, successfully turned on by the dominant kiss, presses his forehead against the southerner's, following the man's lips with an eager mouth. Ellis chuckles, rolling his forehead against Nick's, trying to escape the hungry lips. His hands slide down from the gambler's face to the man's neck, cupping it affectionately. Nick complains when his lover refuses to give him what he wants, "El… come on. Kiss me again." The southerner laughs and blushes at the uncharacteristic plea. He looks up at the gambler but seals his lips. Nick pouts and grumbles before brushing his saliva-moist lips against the southerners'. When the mechanic still doesn't give in, the conman shakes his head, frustrated, "please… kiss me, El" he looks into the blue eyes and begs, "Do it for me… I love you, please."

Ellis stares a little longer into the pleading eyes before granting the man what he wants, pressing his lips against his lovers. Nick releases an appreciative mumble before pushing back into the mouth. The gambler wraps his arms around the southerner but keeps the kiss light as he starts to lean to the side until he's down on the couch with Ellis on top of him. When the mechanic starts to pick up the kiss, Nick pushes him away with a smirk before growling, "Don't think that this will become a regular thing Ale. This is only a once and a while thing." Ellis raises a brow and huffs as if saying 'sure, whatever yew say' before he leans back down and snatches the conman's lips again.

The two lose track of their hands and legs. Some point in their exchange Nick manages to strip Ellis of his combat boots and overalls, leaving him in just his underwear. Of course this also means that the southerner also manages to kick off the gambler's shoes and pull off the man's belt and was in the process of pulling off the man's pristine white pants when Nick suddenly thrusts up as his hands holds his lover's hips in place. The southern mechanic releases a low groan, finding it hard to resist the slow grind against him. Ellis lets Nick's mouth go as his moaning doesn't stop, burying his head into the base of the conman's neck. The gambler is too good at this. He defiantly knows his way around the human body whether it be a woman's or a man's. He knows how to dig into a grind perfectly to get a sound out of Ellis with every stroke.

The southerner bucks and kicks, moaning against his torturer's throat as his hips are ruthlessly rubbed in all the right places. It doesn't take long before Nick's husky voice joins in, feeling the mechanic's hardened member against his. The two pant between groans and lazy kisses, creating friction between each other until the burning beneath their skin becomes unbearable. Ellis suddenly presses his knees into the couch, breaking the spell of Nick's hot movements and claiming his position again by forcefully tilting the gambler's head back and sucking on his neck, gaining a gasp of pleasure. However, the mechanic finds himself craving the friction of the grinding but refuses to let his lover take control again. So instead, the clever southerner parts from the moaning man's neck, making sure to leave a thick trail of saliva connected to his lips as he softly mumbles, "Nick, rub yur hand between my legs…"

Ellis holds his breath when he feels the conman tense underneath him as the man hesitates. The southerner knows Nick would rather flip him over and finish it his way but to Ellis's surprise, the man holds himself back and only grumbles his slight objection. Excitement builds in the mechanic's chest as one of his lover's hands slide from the side of his hips, following the waist band of his tow-truck print boxers, down to pause at the center of his pelvis. He slowly inhales when the hand of the gambler slips into his underwear.

Ellis flinches when the cold metal of Nick's rings touches his unexposed skin but soon relaxes as the smooth material quickly soothes him. The southerner purrs as the tips of the gambler's well used fingers touch the base of his hardened member. Nick watches as ecstasy washes over lover when he starts to stroke. The conman takes this chance to slip his free hand from the slim hips down to the couch where he slyly makes a reach for his jacket. Nick presses hard against the hot appendage in his hand, making the southerner groan loudly and close his eyes, allowing the gambler to reach into his silky jacket pockets without the mechanic noticing.

Meanwhile, Ellis is almost on cloud nine. The way Nick's fingers practically float just above the surface of his erection so that he feels the warmth coming off the skin from his lover, or how the knowledge of what that hand can make him feel without actually feeling it makes his head swim. The tension in his gut builds until he feels like he could explode. But then Nick grips his length firmly yet gently, causing him to almost cry out, thanks to all that pressure and built suspense.

The gambler smirks as his action causes the southerner to tremble gently above him. Nick is fully aware of most of Ellis's triggers. He could easily make the man above him cry out in ecstasy without even engaging in 'the main course' as some may call it. But lately he's been feeling a tad bored with their sex and he's finally figured out why; to his horror, it's become too repetitive. That's why his guilty conscious feels completely justified with his next course of action. It's time to put his second and final plan to action. _I hope you don't end up hating me for this El…_ Nick thinks as his free hand grips something in his hand.

Ellis whimpers cutely when the hand remains firm this time as it strokes his neglected member. The southerner feels like his arms might just collapse from underneath because of the intense pleasure coursing through him. He blames his sensitivity on the fact that Nick has been teasing him for the past couple of days and that they haven't had a good round of sex in a while. But he's still not close to any release, at the start of their relationship neither Nick nor Ellis had had any sex for sometime so naturally they had to fulfill their needs often which explains the southerner's endurance and stamina now; sometimes he even lasts longer then Nick, much to the conman's displeasure.

Anyway, Ellis practically yelps when he feels the gambler's other hand slip into his boxers as well. Except this time the man hooks his fingers on the brim of the underwear, pulling the fabric down until they stop along the mechanic's thighs. Nick hums in pleasure when he sees his prize, which makes the southerner blush hard. Ellis opens his eyes to look down at his lover and stutters, "t-that ain't fair! Take o-off y-yur pants, N-Nick!" The gambler gives his partner a small frown and a pair of eyes that tell the mechanic, 'that's not gonna happen'.

Just as the smaller man is about to make a grab for the stubborn conman's pants two hands suddenly wrap their fingers around his agonized appendage and slide roughly down in one graceful stroke. Ellis's eyes shut as he releases a very loud groan that ends up sounding more like a cry. This leaves the somewhat sensitive young man panting for breathe as Nick relishes in his victory, returning his hands to the pulsing member. The southerner shudders violently when his gambler focuses both hands around the base of his tortured muscle. Moans escape his mouth but the larger man connects their lips, muffling his sounds. They've gotten complaints before about how much noise they make and Nick really doesn't feel like going house shopping right before he has to leave for his con-job.

Just when Ellis starts really enjoying their kiss things start to go horribly wrong. It all started with a simple sound; _click_. It didn't seem so suspicious when he first heard it but then Nick pulled away at the same moment. And he didn't just pull away from the kiss. No. He completely pulled away. His hands fell from their focus point and he started to push up on the southerner. Ellis is completely confused as he's suddenly forced to sit up. Nick now gives him a small smirk and a chuckle, whispering with some triumph, "got ya." This only serves to make the poor mechanic even more confused. But then he notices the constriction felt on his lower regions. He glances down to see something constricting the base of his manhood.

The mechanic makes a face and looks up to Nick who is now relaxing comfortably with his back against the couch, facing the T.V. This only serves to agitate Ellis. He connects a healthy punch to Nick's arm growls, "what the hell is this?" The gambler hisses and grabs his arm, muttering an, "ow" before shrugging passively, eyes still on the movie, "it's a chastity belt of sorts." At this Ellis blinks. He looks back down to the 'belt' on him and makes another face. Almost immediately he tries to remove the foreign device but with no avail.

Nick's voice assaults his ears again, sounding somewhat amused, "you can't take that thing off, El. Only I can." Blue eyes lift to meet green, disbelievingly. This can't be happening. The southerner shifts on his knees a little and asks a little unsurely, "is… is this what you bought today?" Nick nods a couple times and smiles. Ellis had thought that his gambler would use whatever he bought on their anniversary! Not now… Again the southerner looks down at the strange band that had been placed on him. With skeptism he pokes at it, wincing when his hard-on pulses with desperation. Nick chuckles and speaks again, clearly proud of himself; not that that's new or anything, "It stops you from climaxing. But you can still get a painful erection…" Suddenly the screams in the movie echo in Ellis's head. The poor mechanic looks up to his lover, stomach dropping and heart beating fast as he whimpers, "w-what? Ya gotta be kiddin' Nick!"

The gambler's smile just grows to a grin and he shakes his head slightly. Ellis whines in his panic, "c-come on Nick, ya can't be serious… git this thing off'a me!" The conman keeps his sly smile and turns his head to the T.V. again, watching as people scurry to and fro trying to escape the sinking ship. Ellis tries to pull it off again but it's clamped on firmly and he ends up flinching again from the pain. Unlike a belt, this thing is made of something a bit harder reminding the southerner of plastic. Also unlike a belt, this has no belt-like strap, its smooth all around. He guessed that there must be some sort of button to make some sort of latch trigger and release but he finds nothing; nothing at all. This must be some horrible joke. There's no way Nick would really do this to him right?

"Wait, hold still El." The southerner perks up, looking to his lover with hopeful eyes; maybe it really is a joke after all! Nick avoids the shining eyes but gets closer to his lover until he's almost right up against him. The conman smiles softly and brings his hands up to caress the mechanic's neck. Nick connects their lips in a loving embrace. But then there's another _click_and Ellis pulls away with the collar around his neck again. Nick pouts, having really enjoyed the passionate kiss but then he has to fall back to avoid a grab from Ellis as he shouts, "Nick! Git these off'a me! Now!" The conman frowns and grunts, pushing himself up again and crawling away from his angry lover as he groans, "geeze Ellis, it's not like they're going to stay on forever!"

The southern mechanic is defiantly not amused but exhales, trying to relax and calm down. Nick is right; he knows that the conman won't keep these things on him forever. The gambler sits up and tries to give his upset lover a small smile, "I'd try to help you get off but it'd only make it worse, Ale." He lifts a hand to his partner's cheek and gives it a comforting stroke, "why don't you put your pants back on and enjoy the rest of the movie with me?"

As tempting as that may sound and as painful as his erection is, Ellis is determined to get both torture devices off and get his agony quelled. So with a glare, the southerner swats the hand away from his cheek and he makes a lunge at Nick. Maybe if he gets the conman horny enough, he'll take off the chastity belt.

As solid as that plan was, Nick was somehow able to keep his need for Ellis under control, even if the southerner was 'on top' the whole time. Well after the movie, when the southerner finds himself under the thick covers of the bed surrounded by the musk and sweat of his efforts, he finally heaves a sigh of defeat. In his depression and pain, Ellis doesn't even muse on the fact that his determination to rid himself of his hard-on has left Nick completely exhausted. Fire rages throughout his nerves with nothing to quench it. Ellis rolls away from his position of resting on Nick's chest with a grunt.

The conman, out of breath and fighting sleep, finds his lover's hand. Guilt washes over him when he feels the tremors that are coursing through the mechanic's body. Nick rolls to his side, ignoring the aches and pains in his muscles. He cuddles up to his lover, resting his head on the man's shoulder and kisses his salty, sweat covered neck, just above the collar. Ellis shivers again as Nick's rough stubble rubs against his overly sensitive skin.

The two catch their breath in silence, staring into the darkness, the little light that is provided comes from Ellis's alarm clock showing the time to be long past the southerner's usual bed time. The southern mechanic dreads the thought of going to work in his condition, maybe, with luck his pain will fade with sleep. His eyes close with the weight of exhaustion but then the conman beside him says something that makes him open them wide again, "El… can you hold me tonight…?" The almost pathetic voice catches him completely off-guard. The southerner turns his head when he feels Nick prop himself up and look down at him. The light from the clock reflect dimly in the man's eyes above him.

Normally Ellis would feel concerned by this sudden plea from his dominate partner but at the moment he little can be processed in his mind. But somehow he knows its Nick's way of apologizing for his suffering. So Ellis manages a small smile and a stiff nod before wrapping an arm around his partner and pulls the man close. He closes his eyes and breathes in Nick's scent, musing on the fact that he could potentially humiliate his manly partner by commenting that his pleading reminded Ellis of a needy, love-struck teenage girl, but decides it probably wouldn't help him with his current problem.

The southern mechanic tilts his head to kiss the top of his conman's head and mumble a soft, "I love ya, Nicky." Usually Nick snaps at him for calling him something as girly as that but he's only met with the sound of calm breathing and soft mumbles. If Ellis felt any resentment toward his lover, it dissipated now. He knows Nick would never intentionally harm him, perhaps there's a deeper reason behind the torturous belt besides a simple tease. Whatever the reason is, he'll have to figure it out tomorrow or sometime when he can think past his burning needs. Right now his exhaustion overtakes him and the mechanic sinks into a less than peaceful sleep.

* * *

**I'm a jerk I know... I'm fully capable of making it a full and juicy lemon buuuuuut unfortunately i didn't feel like it.**

**but hey, I'll probably write Nick and Ellis smex some other time.**


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